Metroid Prime Hunters: The Dark League
by tracefan
Summary: Part 3 of a trilogy. The hunters are all on another quest, and they may need to put aside their differences to triumph against the ultimate evil...
1. Prologue

Trace stared out into space as he approached the system of his destination. It was dangerous to come here, but after the episode at the Kriken Empire, he was determined to complete his self-given task. He felt calm, but in the back of his mind, there was a small amount of panic. He would no doubt be battling stronger creatures than any other, and the Omega Cannon would be little help.

He knew of a single weapon still in existence that could help, but its location had been lost when the darkness had settled into the system. He examined the planet of his destination, a large planet covered by a dark cloud.

"Approaching the planet Abyss." his computer reported and he nodded, equipping his Imperialist. It was almost time to face the truth...and save the future.

Samus was, by an astounding coincidence, going to the same system. Neither hunter was aware of the other, but the Shadow system clouded every illuminating thing in shadows, including radar. Samus was also on a personal mission, for which she would therefore receive no monetary payment.

"Approaching Abyss and the destination moon." Her computer reported. Samus nodded to herself and prepared for landing.

Weavel watched Samus' ship with interest. The Shadow system wasn't Space Pirate territory, and it was a dreaded system. There were no stories about the place because no one ever returned themselves again.

The lucky survivors were cursed with madness, and unnatural fears. Most never came back. What did Samus know that no one else did? He considered following, but dismissed the thought. He was done risking his life on pointless ventures.

The Kriken Empire fiasco was bad enough. _What about treasure, and revenge against Samus?_ Weavel thought and smiled. Maybe the venture had a purpose after all...

Kanden, ordinarily teamed up with Weavel, but thankfully rid of the pesky Pirate was curious. The Shadow System? The #1 system on the 'Go here if you're suicidal' list? Why was Spire going there?

The Last Diamont had avoided death at the hands of krikens less than a week ago, and he now going near the Shadow System? Kanden's curiosity finally broke. He aimed his weapon cannon at Spire, pressed a few buttons and fired. A tiny object was fired, striking the 'Avalanche' and activating.

"Tracer active. Hunter Spire traced." his computer reported. Kanden smiled. He'd figure out what that Diamont was up to, and Trace might pay him for Spire's location.

Spire absently flew towards the Shadow system. He felt a call to go there and his instincts hadn't steered him wrong yet. Of course, the whole idea of using Dark Armor to avenge his parents was a fiasco, but he hadn't followed his instincts there.

Of course, since then, Noxus had avoided him a little more, which was a slight improvement. At the same time, Noxus was the only hunter other than Samus that Spire trusted...a little. There was a sudden click sound, and Spire checked his radar, startled.

Was he being attacked? The radar showed nothing and Spire relaxed. Time to find out why his instincts had taken him here. Abyss' second moon loomed closer.

Noxus groaned in frustration. Of all the systems to be near when he was hunting evil, why was it the Shadow system? He chuckled as he realized the answer. The Shadow system was an evil place. Noxus remembered his last visit here...and shuddered.

Those days were over, the shadows should have vanished long ago. Noxus narrowed his eyes. Could the darkness have originated here, and still exist? Noxus sighed as he piloted his ship towards Abyss.

Sylux had also come to the Shadow system. Like Spire and Noxus, he had felt a calling to come, and he was skeptical as to the nature of the call. It wasn't a thought or a message, just an urge to go there. It made him uneasy.

"Abyss is the place to go...but why?" Sylux raged, then struggled to become calm. He piloted the Delano 8 towards the dark planet, shuddering slightly. He needed to know why he had been 'called'. What mysteries this planet held. What role he had in the events to come.


	2. First Struggle

Trace flew through the shadow clouds surrounding Abyss. There was no turning back, and Trace knew he had lost the option of backing out a week ago. He had gone to the Kriken Empire, and the events that followed had chosen this path for him. He dropped to the surface and looked around cautiously.

The darkness of the planet was nearly complete, and everything seemed concealed in shadows. Trace briefly wondered what this place had been before the shadows had arrived. Before the darkness had consumed the system.

Trace fired his Imperialist at the shadow in front of him, surprised by the grunt of pain.

"What?" Trace gasped. The shadow solidified into form.

"Hello, Trace!" the shadow sneered.

"Who are you?" Trace demanded.

"Dark Pawn...a proud member of..." the shadow began, but Trace fired his Imperialist again, striking the figure to the ground, but it stood again, grinning.

"You can't win Trace!" the shadow mocked. Trace saw the shadow gleam and flinched.

"No..." Trace breathed. The shadow lunged forward, claw extending and slashing Trace, who screamed in pain, recovering fast enough to shoot another beam. The shadow grunted again, snickering.

"The Dark One shall return, Trace...and you couldn't defeat it the first time!" the shadow sneered. Trace hesitated, and the shadow struck, moving faster than Trace could follow, but slow enough for Trace to duck.

"Trace...you shouldn't have come! The Darkness will never fade!" the shadow mocked. Trace fired his Imperialist, and the shadow collapsed. Trace smiled and raised his weapon for the final blow, aiming at the white crack in the shadow's body. As he prepared to fire, he saw the _Eternal Justice_ fly overhead.

"Noxus?" Trace whispered. He felt a powerful impact in his chest and he was thrown backwards into a tree. The shadow cackled and dissolved into darkness. Trace let out a yell of fury.

"Trace?" Noxus' voice reached him, as the purple hunter walked forward from his drop point. Trace scowled as he returned to his feet.

"What are you doing here?" Trace demanded.

"Same question." Noxus retorted.

"I have my reasons, Vhozon!" Trace snapped.

"You're after the Dark Armor...aren't you?" Noxus whispered.

"I don't expect you to understand!" Trace shouted angrily. Noxus nodded.

"Explain." Noxus requested.

"Shut up. You're too stupid to understand!" Trace yelled. Noxus stared at Trace almost pityingly.

"It's Drek, right?" Noxus asked boldly. Trace's gaze hardened.

"Are you begging for death, Vhozon?" Trace sneered in fury.

"No. I'm guessing, since you won't tell me." Noxus said calmly.

"Yeah? Well to me you're saying 'Kill me Trace, slowly and painfully!" Trace snapped, storming past Noxus, slamming him with his shoulder. Noxus watched him go.

"Problem with him, Nox, is he's too proud." Sylux's voice called from behind him. Noxus looked at Sylux curiously.

"He's afraid, but'll never admit it. All emotions to him are those of weakness. Especially compassion." Sylux whispered.

"I think you're right. Drek is the reason he's here, and I know why. The shadow he fought was wearing Dark Armor. This is the headquarters of the Dark League..." Noxus said.

In the cavernous depths, a skeletally thin figure in black waited, staring into a crystal. Behind his throne was a dragonic black statue. In the center of the room was a piece of Dark Armor dangling above what appeared to be an empty cauldron.

"It won't be long now..." the figure whispered, as the shadow Trace battled entered the room.

"Master...Trace is here." the shadow whispered.

"Good. The plan has succeeded. Go to the second moon and encounter the Diamont. He should have received the call to go there. Conceal your motives...no need to get him too alarmed." the master said calmly. The shadow nodded and vanished into the shadows.

The master chuckled cruelly and he placed some more crystals on the table. One was shaped like a bug, one was humanoid, and one was dragonic.

"It's almost time..." the figure whispered, placing the crystal he had been studying next to the other, which was also bug-like. The crystals glowed black and floated, marking their silhouette on tablets on the wall behind the throne. The humanoid one turned transparent, but the figure was unsurprised. Soon the awaited time would arrive, and the Dark League would rise again.

**Author Notes: I've done hints, foreshadowing, action, and suspense in one chapter. Hopefully some clues will fall into place.**


	3. Cryptic Messages

Spire exitted the Avalanche and walked cautiously, staring around. Why had he felt the need to come here? What was the purpose of coming to the most feared system in the universe, the Kriken Empire being a close second?

Spire kept his Magmaul out, ready for an attack he felt certain was coming. From the moon, he could see Abyss, a planet so shrouded in darkness the starless sky around it seemed bright.

_You love darkness, don't you Diamont?_ a voice in his head mocked. Spire shook his head, trying to clear it. _Embrace the darkness...the power, your opposition's fear...savor the taste..._Spire let out a yell, breaking from the thoughts. He staggered backwards, eyes searching wildly for any source of danger.

Nothing. The moon was deserted, no sign of anything ever having been there in years. Spire felt frustrated. He had come a long way on instinct, but nothing had surfaced yet.

"You should be careful..." a cold voice whispered from behind Spire. Spire turned quickly, ready to fight. Kanden stood, leaning on his ship, _Poison_.

"What do you want?" Spire demanded. Kanden smiled.

"Simply curious why you came here. You already escaped death at the Empire, why risk it again?" Kanden asked sarcastically. Spire scowled.

"Why'd you follow if it's so risky?" Spire retorted. Kanden laughed.

"I'm the strongest hunter, what do I have to fear?" Kanden hissed. Spire barely concealed his grin.

"How pathetic..." sneered a third voice, and Kanden raised his Volt Driver, charging it. Spire charged his Magmaul and they aimed their weapons at the newcomer, who was nearly invisible in the shadows.

"Who are you?" Spire asked. The shadow smirked and vanished, appearing a second later behind Kanden, slashing him with its claws. Kanden grunted, releasing the charge. The shadow shrieked, and in the brief light of the explosion, Kanden saw the gleam of black.

"Great! Dark Armor!" Kanden snickered, slamming his fist into the disorientated shadow. Spire fired the magmaul burst, and the shadow shrieked again, falling to the ground, writhing.

"Talk!" Kanden snapped.

"The Dark One will arise, fools! There's no stopping the Dark League!" the shadow cackled and vanished. Spire shrugged, but Kanden looked mortified.

"What?" Spire asked, silently laughing at Kanden's look of fear.

"The Dark League?" Kanden whispered.

Inside the throne room, the skeletal figure waited, deep in thought.

"Master..." the shadow whispered.

"Yes, Pawn?" the master whispered.

"The message has been delivered! Who's next?" Pawn asked.

"None other than the legendary Samus Aran. She's on the first moon, and is cleverer than the others. She herself knows not why she came here. It's a personal mission, with no objectives!" the master replied. Pawn nodded and vanished again.

Samus landed on Abyss' moon and walked away from her ship, studying the area. Other than some rocks, there seemed to be nothing of interest. She activated her scan visor, searching for a clue. Why had she been instructed to come here?

_Let your frustration go...Samus. You'll be stronger then..._Samus immediately blocked that thought. There was a reason, and she'd figure it out.

"Die Samus!" screeched Weavel, firing Battlehammer bolts while descending, having leapt from his ship. Samus, alerted by his shout, leapt out of range of the green energy explosions.

"What now?" Samus called.

"I still haven't killed you!" Weavel yelled, firing rapid fire shots. Samus returned fire with missiles, and Weavel roared in imitation of Ridley. Samus flinched, giving Weavel enough time to fire more Battlehammer bursts, which missed, but the splash from the explosions knocked Samus aside.

"Don't make me do this, Weavel!" Samus warned, raising the Omega Cannon she recovered from Trace. Weavel didn't hesitate, but divided into Half-turret, his upper half retreating behind a rock. Samus grunted as a few turrets shots hit her, but she escaped the blasts long enough to fire the Omega Cannon. As the orb approached the turret, Weavel retracted his turret and laughed.

"Missed it!" he gloated. There was a flash of light, and in the glow of the blast, they saw a dark shadow.

"What the...?" Weavel yelled, firing at the shadow, who raised its arms and blocked each bolt, grunting as each struck it.

"Who are you?" Samus demanded, aiming her arm cannon.

"Check your ammo!" the shadow mocked and Samus hesitated.

"I have 49 missiles, so?" she replied.

"Are you really that thick?" the shadow sneered. Weavel shrugged.

"I'm confused." he admitted.

"Samus...did you change your weapon?" the shadow asked. Samus looked bewildered.

"No. Why?" she asked. Weavel groaned as he realized where this was going.

"You just used the Omega Cannon!" he screamed. Samus stared at her arm cannon and looked around frantically.

"Here's my message: You can't stop what's meant to be!" the shadow said quietly and vanished. Weavel and Samus stared at each other, rivalry forgotten.

"How did Trace keep the Cannon?" Weavel muttered.

"Worse...that thing was wearing Dark Armor." Samus whispered. Weavel's eyes lit up a moment, unseen by Samus. He signaled his ship and flew away. Samus stared at where the shadow had vanished. "Stop what?" she whispered.

**There was another huge hint in this chapter. Did you catch it? This hint ties a hint from last chapter. It won't be explained for a few chapters.**


	4. Another Struggle

Back on Abyss, Trace continued his search. He knew the Dark League base was nearby. Drek had mentioned it before, after hearing about Trace's hunts. Trace had mentioned the Dark Hunter being the leader of the Dark League, and that the Dark Hunter had announced that all members were dead.

Drek had researched that and determined the Dark League was last seen on Abyss. The source of Dark Armor had to be there, and if Trace could destroy the Dark Armor, he might be able to help his brother. He scowled, a wave of sadness and anger rose in him. It was Servu's fault Drek had been corrupted.

Servu had taken samples of Dark Armor and tried to kill Trace. Drek intervened, allowing Spire to realize Drek was Trace's brother. Spire stole Servu's Dark Armor supply, ultimately forcing Drek to wear Dark Armor himself.

Then, Servu was the one who wounded Trace, which was Drek's breaking point. Drek then finished Servu, before vanishing. Trace would have loved to be the one to finish Servu, especially after what happened to Drek as a result.

Trace had thought he lost his brother before, he didn't want that to happen again. He continued his search.

Noxus and Sylux hurried through the thick brambles, searching for Trace.

"Do...you...think...he...already...knows...?" Sylux asked, panting. Noxus, who hadn't asked the question for the 7th time, had far more breath, and merely shrugged. A dark shape moved in front of them and formed into the Dark Pawn.

"And where might you 2 be heading in such a hurry?" it laughed coldly.

"Get lost!" Sylux sneered. The Pawn snickered.

"Make me, weakling! You both should leave! Such embarrassments to the League!" Dark Pawn mocked. Noxus and Sylux raised their weapons and fired. The Shock Coil struck the Pawn's armor, having minimal effect, but doing damage.

"That's pretty pathetic Dark Armor," Sylux said conversationally, and the Pawn grunted before lunging forward, slashing Sylux's weapon. Sylux reacted instinctively, delivering a kick to the Pawn's gut, and the slash only scratched the weapon, rather than disable it. Noxus charged his Judicator, ready to freeze the evil creature, but the Pawn vanished, reappearing behind Noxus. Sylux fired his Coil, draining more of the creature's energy.

"Thanks!" Noxus said, releasing the charge, freezing the Pawn. Sylux nodded, keeping the Shock Coil lock on the frozen creature, increasing the Shock Coil's power every second. The ice shattered and the Dark Pawn collapsed to the ground.

"You haven't seen the last of me!" it hissed, sinking into the shadows.

Back in the Dark League throne room, the master sighed. Dark Pawn was nothing more than a pawn for the upcoming objective. Pawn had been pleased to be chosen for the task, and yet it insisted on battling the hunters.

The Dark League had fallen into a rut since the invasion of the hidden base, eliminating most of the members. If only the Dark Hunter hadn't died, they'd have many more members. The master smiled at last. It was almost time. The Dark League would rise again, greater than ever before!

"The Dark League is still around?" Spire asked Kanden, alarmed. Kanden laughed. "Of course! The Dark Hunter lied! The Dark League is a terrorist criminal hunter gang. The Space Pirates are just known more. The Dark League, according to the files, have a mysterious power about them, making them nearly impossible to defeat. How Samus took out most of them is anyone's guess..." Kanden explained.

"Simple...she detonated the whole damn building!" The shadow had returned, with 3 other shadow creatures.

"More members of the League?" Kanden asked.

"Yes! They are, in case you can't tell, Space Pirates. Imagine if the Space Pirates and the Dark League united!" the shadow sneered. Spire gulped in terror. If the Space Pirates joined the Dark League, it would be Space Pirates with Dark Armor. An entire terrorist race consumed by hatred and nearly invincible. The Galactic Federation would fall, as would the entire universe.

"Imagination time is over, Diamont!" the Dark Pawn sneered and the shadow creatures raised large swords. Kanden charged his Volt Driver and faced the creatures.

"Attack!" Dark Pawn hissed and the creatures vanished into the shadows, reappearing on either side of the two hunters. Spire backed up nervously, but Kanden merely grinned. Dark Pawn lashed out with his sword, but Spire ducked, retaliating with his charged Magmaul. Pawn shrieked in pain, and Spire punched, knocking the creature to the ground.

"Get him!" Dark Pawn shrieked. The three other creatures ignored Kanden, focusing instead on Spire. Kanden, offended, opened fire. Volt Driver shots struck the creatures, but their Dark Armor repelled most damage. Kanden morphed to Stinglarva and entered the fray, dropping bombs as fast as he could. The creatures growled, but still continued their advance on Spire. Spire blocked the first blade with his rocky arm, but was forced to dodge other sword slashes.

"Yes! Get him!" Dark Pawn sneered. Spire punched a creature, which slammed into the other 2. Kanden released a charged Volt Driver, affecting their vision.

"Let's go!" Kanden yelled, hurrying towards his ship. Spire ran over to his own, shooting the Magmaul at the shadow creatures that were still trying to follow him, the Volt effect fading. Both ships flew from the moon towards the planet itself. More solutions had to be there.

**Let me know if you have any comments, ideas, questions, etc. I'll keep working on the story. It may be slow now, but it'll pick up before long.**


	5. The Role of a Pawn part 1

Samus flew her ship towards Abyss itself. If the Dark League still existed, she'd have to destroy it. She'd start from the source, maybe find data about any remnants of the League. It was clear to her that Abyss' shadowy cloud surrounding the planet was from the Dark League, which was rumored to be the strongest beings in the world.

A group equipped with Dark Armor would fit that criteria. Where was the Hyper Beam when she needed it? Oh yeah...the Federation had instructed its destruction. Samus was reminded again of her views to not destroy it, but orders were orders. regardless. She landed on Abyss and exitted, uneasy about how the entire planet seemed covered in darkness an shadows.

"Suits the League, of course," she mused.

Meanwhile, Spire and Kanden had also arrived on Abyss. They were located not far from where Samus was, but didn't know it.

"Now what?" Spire asked.

"We could try to find the League HQ and destroy it, eliminating the league!" Kanden suggested happily. Spire stared at him for a moment, then shrugged. The Dark League was a massive threat. Spire knew too well the abilities of Dark Armor.

_It's great...it gives you respect and power..._Spire pushed the thoughts away. As time passed, they seemed to get stronger, not weaker. Spire trudged forward until Kanden gasped.

"What is it?" Spire asked, nervous. Kanden raised his Volt Driver, aiming at the shadow ahead. Spire stared at the shadow in fear and interest. It was buglike...with gleaming black armor.

"Who's there!" Kanden yelled. The figure moved forward and Spire felt a thrill of absolute terror. It was him...the one he feared above all others. The one he despised above all others. The figure grinned.

"Hello, Diamont!" Then it vanished into the shadows and didn't reappear.

"Was that...?" Kanden began and Spire nodded, looking around frantically. The danger had just picked up a notch.

Samus heard the strange noise and hurried towards it, arm cannon ready. She emerged into a tiny clearing and saw Spire and Kanden whispering to each other. Then she saw the armored figure approach them.

"Hello, Diamont!" the figure mocked before once more vanishing. Samus hurried over to them.

"Did I see who I thought I did?" Samus asked them nervously. Spire nodded, clearly terrified.

"That's a problem." Kanden said.

Back at the Dark League throne room, the master smiled as the bug-like figure appeared.

"What is it?" the figure asked.

"Are you ever going to refer to me as 'master' or 'sir'?" the master asked wearily.

"I may be cursed with this armor, but I obey no one!" the figure snapped.

"Whatever...it's not a curse. The power you now have..."

"I preferred my natural power, _master_!" the figure retorted angrily.

"Perhaps you need a lesson in obediance...Pawn!" the master called. The Dark Pawn emerged from a corner, looking distressed.

"You now what to do..." the master sneered. Dark Pawn grinned and vanished into the shadows. The figure glared at the master, and vanished as well. The master chuckled. Everyone had a weakness. It was just a matter of exploiting it.

Trace continued storming through the shadows, occasionally firing his Imperialist at trees, watching them burst into flames and then ashes.

"Good day, Trace!" the shadow he fought earlier reappeared. Trace glared at it.

"What now?" Trace snapped.

"You must die..." the Dark Pawn whispered, lunging forward, slashing viciously at Trace. Trace leapt into the air, grabbing a tree limb and using it to swing, landing behind the shadow. An Imperialist shot struck the shadow, who screamed in pain.

"Even with Dark Armor, you really aren't that tough." Trace commented.

"Of course. I'm nothing but a pawn in the master's game!" Dark Pawn sneered.

"You're proud of being used?" Trace asked, surprised.

"I used to be dead!" Pawn snapped. Trace recoiled in shock.

"The Dark Master, the true master of the Dark League revived me temporarily after my death! The spell will wear off, but I am pleased to have served a purpose to the League! I will be used to resurrect the Dark One!" Dark Pawn cackled insanely. Trace stood still in shock, collapsing when the Pawn slashed him.

"Farewell, Trace!" Dark Pawn sneered, raising its claws and slashing. An inch from Trace's face, it suddenly shrieked in agony, and collapsed, writhing in agony.

"This isn't over...the Dark One's revival draws near!" Pawn sneered, vanishing into the shadows. Trace looked around and saw a dark silhouette, which he recognized instantly. The silhouette vanished as well and Trace stared at where the figure had been, a mixture of fear and shock on his face.


	6. The Role of a Pawn part 2

Back in the Dark throne room, the master leaned back contentedly. The time had come, all that was needed was the Dark Pawn, who had been weakening as the temporary revival was coming to an end. Despite this, the master had sent him to attack Trace. He expected interference by the disobediant one, but his point had been made. As he smiled, the Dark Pawn and the disobediant returned.

"Learn anything?" the master asked. The disobediant scowled.

"Yes, master." he replied and the master chuckled.

"Really? What have you learned?" Silence a moment.

"To show respect," the figure whispered.

"Yes. Pawn...the time has come. Ready?" the master hissed.

"Yes, master! Have I served you well?" Dark Pawn asked. The master smiled and nodded, much to the disgust of the other figure. The Pawn approached the cauldron, which was filled with water.

"Begin the Dark Revival!" the master hissed. The Pawn grinned and sliced the rope suspending the Dark Armor, watching it drop into the cauldron, which immediately turned black. A black light struck the Dark Pawn, who gazed with amusement at it as it shimmered and disappeared. The cauldron exploded, revealing a dark shadow, which floated around freely.

"Rise again..." the master whispered. The shadow fell to the ground and took form.

"Master...?" the fallen figure rasped. The master nodded withdrawing a sleek black weapon and tossing it to the figure, who seized it eagerly.

"I need armor..." the figure said. Still glaring with disgust, the buglike figure tossed new armor to the revived one. The armor immediately engulfed the figure and it stood smiling. The humanoid tablet behind the throne changed from transparent to black.

"I'm back..." the figure said, examining its body with amazement. "How did I return?" it asked.

"I revived Dark Pawn for a week, then used his lifeforce and the last piece of your Dark Armor in the potion. Unfortunately...most members can't be revived. Their armor was completely destroyed, while yours was mostly destroyed." the master explained.

"Now I can finish what we started!" the figure said triumphantly.

"Rest before encountering the hunters." the master hissed and the figure nodded, walking to a shadowy corner.

Meanwhile, Trace had stared at the spot where his savior had been, as if hoping it would return. He knew who had helped him. Did that mean that Dark League member detested the League?

"Trace!" Samus called and Trace turned, amazed at how she, Kanden, and Spire knew he was there.

"We think we saw..." Kanden began, but Trace cut him off.

"Drek, right?" he asked. They nodded, and Trace glared at them.

"What do you expect, a shout of 'thank you!'? Get lost!" Trace screamed and Spire recoiled. Trace fixed him with a look of venom and stormed away. He half blamed Servu, but the other half was Spire.

Spire's seizure of Dark Armor had led to Drek's obtainment of the dreaded substance. Trace had vowed to kill Spire after freeing Drek from the armor, if possible. He worried that he might be forced to kill his brother...

Drek watched Trace carefully. Why had he come to Abyss? There was nothing left for Trace in the universe. Dishonored and embarrassed, the kriken was marked for death by the Empire. Trace had no friends, no purpose in life. His own brother was gone, sold to the shadows.

"Not yet I'm not..." Drek whispered, but at the same time he knew that the armor was truly the master of him. He was content with that now. At first he hated it, but after a while, it wasn't so bad. It made him greater than ever. At times, he struggled with the reality. He could never be released from the armor. He almost envied Servu, who had loved every second of corruption.

Noxus and Sylux caught up with Samus, Kanden, and Spire.

"Have you seen...Trace?" Noxus panted.

Samus nodded. "Why?" she asked.

"Do you think he knows that this is the HQ of the Dark League?" Sylux asked.

"Probably. I get the feeling that's why he's here." Spire whispered and everyone turned to stare at him.

"You've got a bigger problem hunters..." sneered a buglike figure. It was time for revenge...

**Let me know how this is turning out.**


	7. Enemy Revealed

The hunters jerked their heads up at the sound of the voice and saw an armored, buglike figure standing on a ledge above them, a cold sneer on its face.

"Who are you?" Samus asked cautiously.

"Your memory is not as good as before, Aran? Pity..." the figure mocked and Samus felt a chill unassociated with the cool atmosphere of darkness. The figure's gaze locked on Spire a moment, but dismissed it.

"Let's see if my natural power is enhanced now..." the figure breathed and leapt into the air, firing an Imperialist shot, which hit Sylux in the leg, causing him to buckle slightly. The figure, clearly a kriken, landed beside Sylux and kicked him in the head with a high kick. Sylux, coordination off, was easily knocked to the ground.

Spire fired his Magmaul, and the figure sidestepped with absurd ease. Then an Imperialist bolt disabled the Magmaul, startling Spire. Noxus tried his shadow freeze, but the figure leapt up to dodge, firing its Imperialist, likewise disabling the Judicator. Noxus felt momentary deja vu, but couldn't figure out what was familar. Spire seemed to get a similar feeling.

Samus fired a missile, but the figure dodged by leaping high into the air. Samus and Kanden fired missiles and Volt Driver, respectively, at the airborne target, who easily twisted in midair to dodge. Samus blinked in shock under the helmet. Could it really be...? Kanden charged the Volt Driver and fired at point blank range, but the figure leapt backwards, dodging the explosion. Kanden shook off the effects easily and continued his rapid fire attacks. Samus aided with her missiles, to no avail.

The figure dodged all shots with ease, then fired 2 Imperialist shots, disabling both hunter's weapons. Sylux returned to his feet and fired his Shock Coil, striking the figure and beginning to replenish his energy.

"Nice try..." the figure mocked and fired the Imperialist, disabling the Coil. Spire swung his fist with enormous force, but the absurd speed of the figure enabled it to dodge, trhowing Spire off balance. Another Imperialist shot weakened Spire to the point of exhaustion.

"5 at once...and I triumph..." the figure hissed. He raised his weapon and aimed at Samus' head.

"Let them go!" a cold voice demanded from behind the figure. The assailant glanced at the other buglike figure.

"Why?" it hissed. The other kriken aimed his weapon at the assailant.

"That's why!" he said. At this point, Samus had inched 5 inches away, so the weapon no longer pointed at her. At that moment, Weavel's ship flew overhead, small plasma bolts rained down at the 2 armored krikens. They both jumped away, but the newcomer escaped unscathed, while the other one's amor cracked. The armor repaired itself quickly and the figure shrieked in fury, firing an Imperialist beam, which glowed brightly, striking the underside of Weavel's ship.

There was an explosion, and the ship tumbled towards the clearing. The attacker grinned triumphantly as the ship struck the ground, exploding with tremendous force.

"Ready to die, hunters?" the figure sneered, aiming at them from a distance.

"Enough!" the other demanded. Paying it no mind, the attacker aimed and prepared to fire. From the ship's ruins, Weavel emerged, Battlehammer firing with superb accuracy. The bolts all struck the figure, the Imperialist shot missing Samus by an inch. Furious, the figure aimed at Weavel, but there was a beam of red fired from the shadows, striking the Imperialist, disabling it.

"WHAT?" The figure shrieked. The other buglike figure gasped in surprise. Trace appeared from the shadows, grinning.

"I win again, Servu." he said, grinning. Samus gasped in shock, but Spire and Noxus weren't that surprised. The figure laughed, the helmet receding, revealing the red kriken with the yellow eye.

"In the flesh..." Servu hissed. The other figure's helmet receded as well, revealing the venom kriken, the emerald eye gleaming, face contorted with rage.

"You're dead!" Drek shrieked.

"So you were interfering with me without knowing who I was?" Servu sneered. "Shows how loyal you are to the League!" Servu cackled. Drek's face darkened.

"I don't care about the League! The armor is a curse..._and a gift..._" Drek's expression changed to a cruel grin as he said it, but he shook it off quickly.

"I killed you, you half-wit traitor!" Drek screamed with fury. Servu laughed.

"You thought you had...but look what that's gotten you? Life as a servant to the Dark League! Being forced to cooperate with your most hated foe..." Servu chuckled as Drek glared.

"How'd you survive?" Trace asked, fascinated. He had figured that Servu had survived, but he couldn't figure out how.

"I hadn't been killed...my armor was broken, and was returning to its original form. I thought I was dying, and I begged mentally for life. The armor has powers like no other substance!" Servu cackled.

"We can disappear in shadows, travel at great speeds in that form. I was saved from death by the armor's last moments of existence. My armor was replaced and here I stand. Pity Drek also is in the League..." Servu mused. Drek's eye flashed dangerously, and Servu laughed.

"How'd you survive, Tracey?" Servu sneered. Trace shot him a venomous look and replied,

"Recovery tank." Trace replied. Drek looked startled.

"From where? You were dead!" Drek sputtered.

"Yet you're unsurprised to see me alive..." Trace replied sadly.

"I saw you earlier..." Drek said coldly.

"Get rid of the armor, bro..." Trace begged, but Drek's face darkened. "I can't..." Drek hissed. "And I wouldn't if I could...the power...the fear it invokes..." Drek sneered, grinning coldly. Trace recoiled and glared at Drek.

"As long as you've got that armor, you're no brother of mine!" Trace spat. Servu laughed.

"Then you have nothing left, Tracey. No friends, no honor, no brother, and every kriken wants you dead! You're nothing but a filthy little exile..." Servu ducked Trace's Imperialist bolt.

"Until we meet again, Tracey..." Servu sneered and he and Drek vanished into the shadows. Trace let out a bellow of fury and fired his Imperialist at a tree, setting it ablaze.

"Trace..." Samus began, but Trace glared at her with such venom she recoiled.

"Trace..." Noxus tried, but Trace started forward aggressively and Noxus flinched.

"Trace..." Spire tried, but Trace aimed his weapon at him.

"Get over yourself!" Spire said regardless. Trace's eye widened in fury and he fired the Omega Cannon, morphing to Triskelion and lunging blindly away.

"Go! Go! Go!" Weavel shouted, and they dove behind trees. The flash of light, and the shockwave demolished a great deal of the landscape, creating a 20 foot radius of destruction. The hunters came out from their shelters, staring in the direction Trace had gone.

"Idiot!" Sylux barked at Spire who shrugged.

**A longer chapter, with a slight twist. I'm just wondering how much longer I'm going to be mentally torturing Trace like this.**


	8. Mind Game

**Author note: I'm back after the delay. I reread chapter 7, and that is perhaps my favorite one so far. Thanks for patience. More questions may be answered...**

The Dark Master waited quietly as the two black armored krikens reappeared in the room. He watched emotionlessly as they immediately resumed arguing.

"Ego maniac!" Drek yelled.

"Obsessive nitwit!" Servu yelled back. The humanoid figure in the shadows chuckled malevolently.

"Crazy idiot!" Drek continued, oblivious.

"ARE YOU DONE YET?" The Dark Master finally yelled 5 minutes later. Both hesitated before answering "Yes, master!" monotonously. The humanoid shadow chuckled again, falling silent at the glare it received from the master.

"Enough arguing! The League will not be torn apart because the strongest members..." the master gestured to the tablets behind him, depicting the 2 bugs, the humanoid, and the dragonic silhouettes.

"...can't get over a past rivalry! It's the past, and the League focuses on the future, much like the Kriken Empire. After the last incident where Miss Aran took out our other base, our membership has declined because of a shortage of the Dark Armor!" the master continued. The humanoid shadow flinched.

"The question is...who's most likely to want the power of the Dark Armor? At the Gem Ruins, the Dark Hunter believed Samus and Sylux did. He was wrong on both counts, although closer with Sylux. At the Empire, both Spire and Noxus seized armor, as well as you two." the master continued.

"Should we focus on the last 3? Weavel the disgraced Space Pirate, Kanden the enraged mutant, and Trace, the woefully depressed and saddened kriken?" the master smiled ironically and Drek scowled furiously. The humanoid shadow took note of the movement with a cruel smile. The master turned to the figure.

"Try all 3...one is bound to crack...especially with your abilities..." the master said with a hiss.

"Who first?" the shadow whispered. Servu gaped for a second before recovering.

"I think our comrades would prefer a 3rd kriken...afterall, they're the only kriken members in history." the master replied, turning to smile coldly. The shadow smiled and vanished. The skeletal figure of the Dark Master turned away from the armored krikens and returned towards the dragon statue behind the throne.

"It's almost time..." he hissed to the statue, and the eyes briefly shown red.

"Drek and Servu...go cause more havoc for the other hunters. Do not kill them. Work together!" The master barked and the krikens shot each other a glare of loathing before vanishing simultaneously.

Trace stamped through the forest, shooting at random objects. How dare that Diamont dare talk to him. He had every right to be mad his brother was twisted by the Dark Armor! That's why he came to Abyss...to destroy the Dark League once and for all!

_You'll fail, and have to kill your brother..._a voice in his head mocked and Trace slammed his fist into the nearest tree, then slashed at it in his Triskelion, reducing it to sawdust.

_Forced to kill the one who want to save...so weak..._Trace repeated the attack on a second tree, but the destruction wasn't nearly enough. Trees had no pain.

_Or you just dont have the power..._the voice sneered and Trace fired the Omega Cannon at the group of trees, demolishing a large radius.

_So powerless...seeking that which will cause you pain...trying to save someone who doesn't care about you...then being forced to kill him..._at this, Trace scowled furiously, firing the Imperialist at the nearby tree, setting it aflame, watching it smolder with a fire that gave off no light or warmth. Such was the power of the shadow cloud around the planet.

"Hello, Trace..." sneered a faintly familar voice, but Trace was not surprised. As soon as the voice had goaded him, he knew. He turned to face the figure, looking at the face that was distorted and like melted wax, the featureless form except for the waxy look.

"We meet again..." the figure sneered. Trace nodded, waiting.

"I'm amazed you aren't surprised..." the figure continued.

"I guessed," Trace replied quietly.

"You can't help him, Trace..." the figure sneered and Trace shot him a venomous look. The Dark Hunter laughed chillingly and raised his sleek Goo Gun.

"Replaced it?" Trace snarled, feeling his rage build as he remembered the weapon with the power to give Dark Armor, as well as counter and mimic all weaponry.

"The last one in existence, Trace. The Dark Master's own weapon." The Dark Hunter replied, grinning slightly.

"You know what's next, I presume?" the Dark Hunter asked. Trace nodded and the world vanished, replaced by the black abyss where the Dark Hunter's mind games took place.

"This battle is only for the mind, not the gun!" the Dark Hunter sneered as black energy fired from his body, countered by Trace's red energy. The energy collided, creating sparks. Trace focused on the goal of freeing Drek from the Dark League, and the red energy pushed the black one back an inch.

_You can't help him...he loves the armor now. So much has changed in such short time. You cant' undo it..._

"Yes I can! If it was done it can be undone!" Trace shouted, struggling to control his bubbling rage.

_Not everything can be undone, Trace. Even when you undo it, it can resurface. Better to leave things as they are..._

Trace scowled and focused harder, pushing the black energy back further.

_You'll never win...the Dark League is unstoppable..._

"I'll stop it!" Trace snapped, the red energy pushing the black further towards the Dark Hunter.

_He never liked you. He's glad to be rid of the embarrassment you are. You're so weak, and he is now strong..._

Trace froze in absolute horror. The black pushed his red with such force that sparks and lightning were shot from the connection, and the black pushed his red energy back towards him.

"That's a lie...!" Trace sputtered helplessly.

"Can you actually prove it? He thought you'd be great and look what happened? Exiled and scorned by the kriken race! He already said he'd love to kill you himself!" the Dark Hunter cackled and Trace felt rage like no other flow through him and an energy pulsed uncontrollably from his body, shattering the red and black beams entirely, forcing their minds back to reality.

He lunged at the Dark Hunter, firing the Imperialist rapidly, with perfect accuracy. The Dark Hunter focused and gestured, creating his force barriers that blocked every bolt effortlessly. Trace slashed his claws at the Dark Hunter, who dodged.

"You're so slow...and you'll never beat me anyway. Not without Samus holding your hand! You sicken me!" The Dark Hunter laughed and Trace screamed in rage, firing a final shot, which hit the Dark Hunter, causing him to grunt in pain and the scowl.

"This isn't over yet...the Dark League is unstoppable!" the Dark Hunter sank into the shadows and vanished.

Trace looked through the next tree and saw a rocky clearing. The entrance had to be there. He signalled his Kriken Sniper and had it scan the area for an entrance. A small device he held beeped and a red dot appeared. He nodded triumphantly. The entrance was actually quite close, and the Dark League would finally be destroyed.


	9. The Scheme begins

Back at the forest, the other hunters had all recharged their weapons, removing the disablement. Unsurprisingly, some hunters had become rather aggressive from the encounter with the armored krikens. Weavel was perhaps the angriest, considering the destruction of his ship. Sylux had gotten bored of yelling about how stupid Spire was for annoying Trace.

"Ok, seriously...stop arguing. The Dark League is our main concern, and we should take them down as a team!" Noxus said suddenly. Samus nodded in agreement, and Spire agreed enthusiastically. Sylux considered it for several seconds before nodding solemnly. Weavel merely grunted and Kanden nodded half-heartedly.

"That means we have to work together and cooperate, so let's go figure out what we do next!" Noxus said.

"You have no idea what to do next!" Servu's voice sneered and they all turned to see Servu standing on a tree limb above them.

"Cant you ever go away?" Sylux asked in annoyance.

"No, he really can't." Drek said calmly from a higher limb of the same tree.

"What's that mean?" Servu demanded of Drek, who chuckled and leapt down from the limb he was on, landing on Servu's limb.

"See what they make of you now." Drek said with a smirk. Servu scowled and leapt down, firing his Imperialist. Spire dodged, retaliating with a charged Magmaul, setting Servu alight. Servu grunted, and fired again. Sylux dodged and fired his Shock Coil while Noxus charged his Judicator. Servu broke the lock and fired again, this time at Samus, who rolled into morph ball to dodge. Noxus released the Judicator charge, freezing Servu.

All the hunters opened fire, shattering the ice and bombarding Servu with energy and missiles. Servu vanished into the shadows, emerging behind them, but Weavel separated into half turret, which targeted Servu, giving the others an idea of where he was. Drek watched this passively, amused by Servu's struggle.

Servu's overconfidence was a weakness. He hadn't beaten 5 hunters at once, he beat 5 one at a time, in a row. Now there were 6 against him, and they were fighting together. Drek fired his Imperialist reluctantly, striking Sylux in the leg. Sylux grunted and signaled his Delano 8. Caught by surprise, Drek yelled as plasma bolts struck his tree, knocking him off the limb to the ground. Drek fired back at the Delano, striking the cannon.

He dodged more plasma shots and fired again, watching as the Delano retracted the cannon before it got too damaged. Unfortunately, it loaded a missile launcher. Servu saw it too and yelled in panic as a missile launched towards him. He threw himself to the side, but the shockwave threw him to the ground, also knocking Weavel away as well. The Delano aimed again, and Servu scowled.

"We'll be back..." he hissed and both krikens vanished.

"Interesting..." Samus mused, looking at the Delano 8's missile launcher. Sylux nodded and beamed down a recovery kit for his leg. Afterwards, they hurried after where Trace had gone.

The Dark Hunter returned to the throne room at the same time Servu and Drek did.

"Status!" the Dark Master snapped to the krikens.

"Overpowered early on. Sylux's Delano 8." Drek replied, with a slight glare at the Dark Hunter. Servu didn't reply at all.

"And you...?" the Dark Master asked the Dark Hunter, who shrugged.

"Not sure. He has a great deal of anger and potential, but he's too reluctant to use it." the Dark Hunter replied.

"What might tip him over the edge?" Drek asked curiously.

"Easy. You insulting him cruelly." The Dark Hunter replied, smirking. Servu chuckled and Drek looked confused.

"Why would that do it?" Drek asked.

"Simple. He looks up to his far more talented brother. Should his brother criticize him unnecessarily harshly, his whole world would shatter. Especially since you always treat him so fondly." Servu replied. Silence.

"It's the reverse of your conversion..." the Dark Master hissed. Drek still looked puzzled.

"Your death would also do the trick." Servu explained.

"Since your brotherly bond was so strong, when Trace nearly died, you went psycho. If you nearly died, it'd be the same thing. He fears killing you." The Dark Hunter said quietly.

"How do you know that much?" Drek asked suspiciously.

"I can plant thoughts, and to truly make that effective, I can also see their current thoughts. Trace fears being forced to kill you, which is why he's here. He wants to destroy the League!" The Dark Hunter laughed.

"It's a losing battle..." the Dark Master mused, as a dozen armored Space Pirates appeared nearby.

"Master..." the pirates hissed, and the master nodded.

"What's this about?" Servu asked. "Sit back and enjoy the show. Our members will guard the base. They can't beat us all, and if they do, we get to battle them personally..." the master hissed quietly. The Dark Hunter nodded in response to the glance he received. He already knew his duty, and he would not fail again.

"Where did Trace go?" Sylux finally asked after searching for 10 minutes.

"I dunno. Why?" Spire asked. Everyone turned to stare at him incredulously.

"Oh yeah...we're looking for him." Spire said awkwardly. Noxus sighed and they continued in the direction Trace had gone earlier.

"Is that him?" Spire asked, pointing. "Spire...that's a tree. Trace is red!" Weavel said, annoyed.

"Hey, guys..." Spire started and Kanden groaned.

"If this is a stupid comment, I'm shooting you!" the mutated hunter warned.

"Trace was mad right? So we should follow the path of destruction." Spire said nervously. A pause.

"Lucky..." Kanden said, disappointed. They turned on the right hand path, which was marked by telltale signs of recent burns and slashes. They had to help Trace, even if he didn't want it...

**Ok, I tried a tiny bit of humor last section, but it probably failed. There's more action in the coming chapters. **


	10. Dark Pirates attack

**Oh wow...upon rereading chapter 9, I realize that to me that is one of the funnier things I wrote. Glad a few others liked it as well.**

Trace walked towards the rocky clearing, checking his locating device. It was a Federatin prototype that worked well, and Sylux had sold it to him a while ago. He knew his Imperialist's zoom was useless for this stealth job, since Dark Armor made them immune to sensors. This created a great deal of anticipation, knowing he could be ambushed by enhanced beings anytime.

"So that's how my sniping victims feel..." Trace mused. He noticed the signal of his device getting stronger, and that's when it happened. 3 black armored Space Pirates appeared behind a rock, catching Trace slightly off guard. With great speed, they fired energy bolts, most of which missed, but he was hit by a few, launching him backwards. He fired the Imperialist, which struck one of the pirates, who stumbled, but recovered.

Trace fired again, hitting a different Pirate in the head, which had far greater effect, but not nearly enough to kill the Pirate yet. The third pirate dodged the next shot and slashed its claws, knocking Trace to the ground. He rolled back to dodge a second slash and returned to his feet, firing again. The pirates blocked the shots with their claws. Trace refused to panic, trying to stay out of range of the claws, but the pirates fired energy bolts instead. Enhanced by Dark Armor, the bolts were faster than normal Pirates' bolts and Trace struggled to dodge.

The Pirates did a spread fire, where all 3 fired at the same time, rapid fire and in different directions. Trace leapt up to dodge, but they continued firing, indifferently. Trace landed directly into some of the bolts, yelling in pain as the bolts took their toll, sapping chunks of energy from him. He fell to one knee, using it to leap back to his feet and fire again. The second headshot to the Pirate made it grunt in pain, and the third caused it to yell in pain. Trace dodged more bolts and fired, this time killing the weaker pirate. 4 headshots to kill a Space Pirate?

These weren't even the elite Pirates, just the basic troops. Trace yelled in agony. His moment of distraction allowed the remaining 2 pirates to leap over to him and slash him. He fell to the ground weakly, and struggled to stand. A second barrage of energy bolts ended that hope. He was helpless, unable to stand up, and at the mercy of the armored pirates. He had never expected to die this way...darkness struggled to overcome him, and he fought to maintain his vision, staring up at the armored pirates. They had raised their claws for the final blow.

He morphed to Triskelion, but they struck with amazing speed, temporarily crippling his alt. He was truly helpless now. He couldn't even morph out of Triskelion, and his Triskelion was visible to the pirates, with their enhanced senses. They once more raised their claws to finish him. Let it be painless...Trace hoped, but he got the feeling death wasn't painless, especially if killed by Space Pirates.

Back at the Dark League throne room, Servu was smirking slightly as Trace vainly battled the Space Pirates. According to the Dark Master, these were the weakest of the Space Pirate troops. Drek, on the other hand, was unamused. It was an unfair battle, and although Trace had beaten one of the 3 opponents, he was finished.

"I thought you agreed not to kill Trace!" Drek finally said coldly and the Dark Master turned to face him.

"Drek...he won't die. Not yet..." he hissed quietly.

"Looks like he's going to!" Drek retorted, after witnessing Trace's crippling. The Dark Master laughed.

"He can be saved...by becoming one with his anger and hate..." the Dark Master sneered. Drek nodded absently, the armor once more calming his rebellious desires. It was better to submit than to fight a pointless battle. Trace would either live or die, and there was nothing that could be done.

Trace watched helplessly as the pirates slammed their claws down. In the millisecond before impact, Trace felt a dark aura surrounding him and the Dark Hunter seemed to flash before him.

"So weak...rage is power. They're the weaklings, and they're going to beat you. Fight back! Teach them their place!" The illusion vanished and Trace focused before blocking the blow from the pirates, his Triskelion claw taking the blow meant to kill him. No longer crippled, he hurried back to biped, weakened by the attacks.

The pirates dismissed this development mindlessly and slashed again. Trace, still greatly weakened, barely managed to avoid this attack, firing desperately. He managed to hit the main attacker once in the head, but it didn't slow them much. He could keep struggling, but in his current state, he'd lose. It truly was a hopeless battle.

"Hey! Is that him?" Spire asked suddenly.

"Where?" Kanden asked, readying the Volt Driver. "In the rocky area, getting creamed by the black armored Space Pirates." Weavel explained, looking carefully.

"Guys...we might want to help him then!" Samus said. Sylux nodded, rolling into lockjaw and zooming off towards Trace's battle. The other hunters followed, Samus boosting in her morph ball, the others on foot. After about 5 seconds, Spire realized that his Dialanche handled rocky terrain, and plowed through the rocks, clearing a path.

They watched as Sylux and Samus fired their weapons at the armored Space Pirates, who were distracted from Trace for the moment. Spire returned to biped and fired his Magmaul. Noxus fired his Judicator from a distance. Unlike Trace, Noxus couldn't snipe well, especially without a zoom feature. Weavel waited a bit before firing his Battlehammer. It's much harder to be accurate with a lob weapon from a distance. Kanden watched as the Pirates battled the hunters. He wasn't interested in helping them fight at the moment. He instead went to Trace, who was recovering slightly.

"Hi!" Kanden said enthusiastically. Trace stared at Kanden with a mixture of confusion and revulsion.

"Why are you so happy?" Trace snarled. Kanden shrugged and tried to help Trace return to his feet, but was shoved aside.

"I can do it myself!" Trace snapped. Kanden sighed.

"You're an idiot..." he muttered. Unfortunately, Trace heard him.

"Master..." a Space Pirate had appeared in the room.

"Let me guess...Trace received reinforcements and beat your weak squad?" The Dark Master asked lazily, gesturing to the visual of the 2 armored Pirates dropping under the attacks of the other hunters.

"Yes..." the Space Pirate leader muttered.

"I didn't expect this...but no matter. Warn the second squad." the master hissed and the pirate vanished into the shadows.

"It doesn't matter. The League will triumph in the end." The Dark Hunter assured the master, who laughed.

"I don't think we'll lose, it's more what will happen after we win. We will have less members, and our supply of Dark Armor is dwindling." the master mused.

"There's a limited supply?" Servu asked, skeptically. The Dark Master smiled sinisterly.

"It's not natural, and it's virtually impossible to recreate." he said simply. The Dark Hunter smirked and vanished into the shadows. Drek glanced at Servu for explanation but there was none. The Dark League still had the advantage in the war, but Drek had a feeling that there was still a long way to go.

**Hope the action has picked up a bit.**


	11. Legend and Memories

Trace glowered at the other hunters. "Why are you here?" He snapped.

"Um...is this a trick question?" Spire asked. All the hunters stared at him again.

"No...it's we're trying to help Trace." Weavel supplied dully.

"I don't need help!" Trace snapped angrily.

"You were nearly killed by those pirates." Sylux pointed out.

"Shut up!" Trace snarled.

"Stop! We need to work together to beat the Dark League, not fight." Samus explained.

"I don't need you! I know what I need!" Trace scowled.

"Right...what do you need to singlehandedly beat the Dark League? The Omega Cannon?" Noxus asked sarcastically. Trace snickered.

"No, the Light Beam, morons!" Trace replied, then froze. "Didn't mean to say that..." he moaned.

"The Light Beam?" Noxus repeated thoughtfully. He remembered the name before, a few years ago.

_Noxus flew the Ice Demon, his ship, to the planet that was later called Abyss. He landed, squinting at the bright sky, looking for the rendezvous point. _

_"Noxus?" a Vhozon asked softly and Noxus turned to greet the waiting Vhozon. _

_"I heard you wished to join the League?" the Vhozon asked, and Noxus nodded. _

_"This way, you'll meet with the leader." the Vhozon explained as they entered a building. Noxus was led to a meeting room, and there were several figures inside. Some were humans, others were a group of other species. _

_"Ah, Noxus...I've reviewed your background, and we can't accept you. Sorry, you just don't meet our standards." the figure at the head of the table wore black armor, and was obviously humanoid. His features were hidden in shadow. _

_"But, I worked hard to enter the League." Noxus protested. _

_"Begging doesn't help, Noxus. This isn't the group for you. Bounty hunters can only interfere with our plans, not assist us. Farewell." the figure turned from him dismissively. Noxus felt betrayed. He had spent weeks planning, only to be denied. _

_"The Light Beam is to be sealed in the dungeon." he heard the leader say darkly to a guard as he stormed from the complex. He started up his ship and flew away from the planet. He'd show them. He'd grow stronger than any other hunter and take down the criminal hunter gang. He sold his ship and bought a different one to symbolize his new love of justice._

Noxus broke free of his memories and nodded as he became aware that Spire had just said something to him.

"Sorry, what?" Noxus asked. Kanden chuckled.

"He said, have you heard of the Light Beam before?" Weavel cut in.

"Yes...it should be hidden in the dungeon of the HQ." Noxus said, before realizing that he appeared to have too much knowledge, but only Trace looked at him suspiciously. Trace reluctantly agreed to join up with them, but insisted that he was independant. They mostly ignored this.

They were nearing the signal marking the entrance when a Judicator shot fired at them. Noxus was shocked.

"Who else has a Judicator?" he asked nervously. Samus and Trace both raised their hand.

"I meant of our enemies!" Noxus said impatiently.

"I dunno, it's a Vhozon gun!" Sylux said irritably.

"Hello, Noxus!" sneered a cold voice as a black armored figure emerged from the shadows. It was quite clearly an armored Vhozon.

"It's you!" Noxus hissed angrily.

"Glad you recognize me, although the years have been hard on you. I am preserved in the Dark Armor, while you age slowly...nearing death by my hand!" the Vhozon smirked.

"Who is this?" Trace finally asked.

"Oh how foolish of Noxus...I am Ice, the Vhozon Dark League member." Ice said coldly.

"A Vhozon joined the League?" Kanden asked, smirking.

"Yeah, so much for the righteous Vhozons!" snickered Weavel.

"Oh? Then you forgot that Noxus begged to be let into the League!" the Dark Hunter's cruel voice mused.

"I did not!" Noxus protested.

"You certainly wanted to join...and you have had Dark Armor. You loved the power..." the Dark Hunter smiled. Noxus growled in fury. Ice smirked, enjoying Noxus' irritation.

"Resist the League all you want, Nox..." Ice began, laughing as Noxus snarled in hatred of the nickname.

"Calm down, Noxus. Anger makes you fall into the grasp of the League!" Samus warned.

"We don't want him!" the Dark Hunter scoffed coldly. Noxus shrugged, trying to appear indifferent, although the pain of rejection was burning. He was always the Vhozon excluded at Vho, the last one picked for snowball fight teams. He shook the feeling away, knowing that resentment was also a path to the darkness.

"I'll be around, Nox!" Ice hissed and vanished into the shadows, leaving them alone. Silence stretched between the hunters for several minutes before finally, Sylux turned to Trace.

"What's the Light Beam?" he asked.

"It's a weapon that shoots light as a beam." Trace replied sarcastically.

"So?" Spire asked.

"Are you all idiots?" Trace asked. Spire shrugged, earning another incredulous look from the others.

"I was supposed to say no, wasn't I?" Spire asked weakly.

"The Light Beam is a weapon rumored to be able to repel and defeat darkness. It hasn't been seen for over thirty years. It was stolen by a Space Pirate attack squad..." Trace began.

"...whose commander refused to part with it and ultimately abandoned the army and made his base on Abyss' first moon." Weavel continued the story.

"The Dark League arrived and seized the Light Beam, believing it could be harnessed for evil." Noxus finished. Silence again.

"How do three of you know different parts to the same story?" Sylux finally asked.

"I know the legend." Trace replied.

"I know the Pirate history." Weavel said.

"I tried to join the League and heard the news before being denied." Noxus admitted. Fortunately, no one responded to this.

"Here's another question: How do we enter the Dark League HQ, go to the dungeon, retrieve the Light Beam, and use it to take out the Dark League without getting killed?" Spire asked. They all looked at each other.

"That's a detail we need to work on..." Samus said quietly.

**A little background on Noxus, and the next segment will probably be a bit of stealth/action. It may take longer to update those chapters.**


	12. Infiltration part 1

The Dark Master chuckled softly as Ice and the Dark Hunter reappeared in the throne room.

"Where'd they get that freak?" Servu muttered to Drek, gesturing to the Vhozon.

"That 'freak' as you so wisely put it, Servu, is the leader of the main attack forces of the Dark League. Ice is a recruiter, and a superb fighter. However, he prefers a simpler role to an elite role, unlike you two." the Dark Master replied icily. The Dark Hunter smirked.

"So...status?" The Dark Master hissed to the arrivals.

"They're practically at our gates. Shall I sound the alarm?" Ice replied.

"Since I already know they are here, a blaring alarm screaming 'Intruder Alert' is the last thing I need." The Dark Master responded calmly. Drek snickered.

"Inform the troops of the intruders. They will play into my hands." The Dark Master continued as Ice glared at Drek.

"And me, sir?" Ice asked.

"We'll see if you're needed later. Noxus would be your assignment." the Dark Hunter supplied, and the master nodded to confirm.

"What about us?" Servu asked.

"You aren't needed just yet." the Dark Master said quietly.

Back at the clearing, further from the entrance, the hunters were finishing their planning.

"Ok, ready? This is a stealth mission. The purpose is to get as deep as we can without getting seen. Everyone ready?" Trace asked.

"You realize that we don't turn invisible while holding an Imperialist or in alt, right?" Sylux asked.

"Huh? Of course not. Why?" Trace asked.

"Two things. You handed us Imperialists, and during your instructions you mentioned staying still, going to alt, and the word 'invisible' at least 5 times." Samus explained. Trace turned a more fascinating shade of red.

"Can someone else make a plan that we can all do?" Weavel asked.

"No...but I can make a plan that plays to all our strengths!" Spire said. They all turned to him attentively.

"First, we all turn invisible..." he didn't get further because Kanden began gleefully shooting him with the Volt Driver. Eventually, they decided to formulate their own plans, because the HQ was probably unpredictable, and to make plans, they had to be able to predict what could happen.

They started in groups, with Samus and Sylux going first, Spire and Noxus going second, and Weavel and Kanden last. The groups would separate later as well. Trace went alone.

Samus and Sylux hurried down a corridor, quickly but quietly. Sylux paused and looked behind them to ensure there weren't League members sneaking behind them. They went down one passage and emerged in a labyrinth chamber, the entrance already sealed with a forcefield.

"Oh...great!" Sylux muttered as 2 Space Pirates appeared, wielding energy swords.

Noxus and Spire had followed, but had chosen a different passage to go down. The corridors were torchlit, but the glare from the torches did nothing to illumintae the entire room, just a small space. Both warily looked around, hoping to avoid all encounters with League members.

"Where would the dungeons be?" Spire asked.

"The basement, but where's that?" Noxus replied.

"Simple, it's the elevator over there!" 3 Space Pirate sneered as they appeared from the shadows, each carrying energy blades. A forcefield sealed the exit and entrance to the corridor as they advanced upon the hunters.

Weavel and Kanden followed a third pathway and reached a large circular room, with a table in the center.

"A conference room?" Kanden murmured.

"More than that...it's the entrance to the labs..." the Dark Hunter sneered, materializing from the shadows.

"Oh great!" Weavel scowled as they raised their weapons.

Trace chose the fourth and final passageway, which seemed to be crawling with League members. Trace froze in place, watching the guards pass without noticing him. Trace inched further down the corridor every few seconds, careful to stay in shadows where the guards wouldn't notice him as easily, although he suspected they could see in darkness.

After a few minutes, he morphed to Triskelion to move around quicker. Unfortunately, he bumped into a guard turning a corner. The guard didn't notice, and Trace sighed silently. At the end of the corridor was an elevator, and as he approached, a barrier appeared in front of him. He scowled, turning to find another route, but a second barrier appeared a few feet away.

"Oh that's so not cool!" Trace muttered.

"No? Well then, next time watch where you're going!" sneered 3 armored Space Pirates, emerging from the shadows within the barriers. Trace raised his weapon confidently. This time he'd win.

In the throne room, Servu watched in with amusement as security troops intercepted the 3 hunter groups. The Dark Hunter had intercepted the targets. The visuals vanished abruptly and the Dark Master shrugged.

"No matter, we'll know the results before long." he whispered coldly. Drek nodded absently. Servu shrugged indifferently.

Samus and Sylux stared at the 3 Pirates, who lunged forward, slashing their blades. Samus ducked, firing a close range Imperialist into the Pirate's chest, knocking it off balance. Sylux leapt backwards, using the Shock Coil to drain energy from the second Pirate.

The third Pirate fired energy bolts, which Samus rolled into morph ball to avoid and rolled to the side, returning to biped and return fire with the Imperialist. Sylux struggled to keep the Shock Coil lock on the same pirate, knowing that it would ultimately result in the pirate's defeat. The Pirate slashed at Sylux with the blade, narrowly missing, but breaking the lock.

Reluctantly, Sylux fired the Imperialist Trace gave him and the weakened Pirate grunted. Samus fired another beam, which finished off the pirate. The remaining pirates grinned wickedly and lunged, swinging their energy blades. Samus dodged her adversary, but Sylux was slashed, causing him to yelp in pain, but he recovered quickly, firing his Shock Coil at the attacker.

Samus fired missiles at her opponent, who blocked them all with the energy blade, before spinning it around to slash at her. She fired her Imperialist, catching the pirate off guard, causing it to stumble, the blade missing by an inch. She couldn't keep the dodging up forever, and the pirates were too fast to outrun...

Noxus and Spire gulped slightly as the 3 Pirates surrounded them.

"Noxus and Spire, is it?" The lead Pirate hissed. They didn't respond, and the leader cocked its head thoughtfully.

"Former Dark Armor users...how pathetic. Kill them!" the pirate hissed and the other 2 raised their energy swords, leaping forward, bringing their swords down in long arcs. Noxus fired his charged Judicator, freezing the pirates allowing Spire to shoot furiously with his Magmaul. The leader fired energy bolts and Spire fell in pain, but stood, ready to continue the fight.

"No luck!" one of the pirates sneered as Noxus fired at it. Noxus charged his Judicator again, but the pirates leapt back as he released the charge. Foiled, Noxus fired his icy weapon as quickly as he could, aided by Spire's fiery Magmaul shots, but the pirates faded into the shadows and reappeared behind them.

"So not fair!" Noxus muttered, turning around as the pirates' energy blades swung at them. Noxus spun into Vhoscythe and his blade spun wildly. Spire rolled into Dialanche and climbed the wall, then dropped down upon a pirate, who screamed as the heavy rock slammed it into the ground, cracking the Dark Armor. Noxus' Vhoscythe blade hit the second pirate, causing it to stumble. Spire's lava blades struck the off-balance pirate, sending it to the ground.

Both returned to biped and fired Imperialists, killing the pirates. The pirate leader gaped, then began firing energy bolts at great speed. The hunters dodged as best they could, returning fire with Imperialists, finishing off the leader after 2 shots apiece. The forcefields vanished and they sighed in relief, reaching the elevator.

"That wasn't that hard..." Noxus panted.

"Wasn't easy." Spire replied as the elevator slowly went down towards the basement labs.

TO BE CONTINUED...


	13. Infiltration part 2

Trace stared at his adversaries, who had formed a triangle formation.

"3 on 1, eh? Well I've been waiting for this for a while!" Trace sneered and fired his Imperialist. The targeted pirate dodged and fired energy bolts, but Trace ducked and fired again. The new target leapt to the side, firing energy bolts, one of which hit Trace and winding him slightly.

"Had enough?" The thrd pirate mocked slashing with an energy blade. Trace dodged by morphing to Triskelion and lunged forward, striking the pirate, but doing no damage.

"That all you got?" the pirate mocked, lashing its foot out, knocking Trace backwards before slashing down upon the Triskelion. Trace lunged again, dodging the sword, striking the black armored Space Pirate in the leg, causing it to buckle. The other 2 pirates withdrew their energy blades and slashed at the Triskelion enthusiastically. Trace narrowly dodged, backing up and returning to biped.

He fired immediately, hitting the off-balanced Pirate in the head, who grunted in pain. Trace fired at the pirat again, knowing that by focusing on one adversary at a time, the odds would be better. However, the pirate had recovered just enough to duck the second shot. Disappointed, Trace fired again, and the 3 pirates vanished into the shadows, emerging at different areas of the corridor.

"Oh, come on!" Trace yelled in frustration, firing again. Once again, the pirates dodged his shots with ease and began to close in on him, raising their blades.

"Shouldn't have come, kriken..." one sneered and slashed. Trace leapt to the side, the blade grazing him, causing a small shock of pain, but nothing more. He fired at point blank range and the pirate screamed in pain. Trace fired again, and the pirate swung its blade again, Trace getting grazed again, falling to the floor. The other two pirates closed in on him and he fired blindly. The beam hit the first pirate who fell soundlessly.

The other 2 hesitated a split second as they saw their comrade fall, but it didn't last. Trace rolled to the side as both energy blades slammed down upon the spot he had been. He stood up again and fired, hitting the closest pirate. The other slashed at Trace again, but missed, causing it to stumble. Trace kicked his foot out. pushing the off balanced pirate aside and fired at the wounded one, smiling at the shout of pain he heard. He ducked his victim's blade, but barely and fired up at the pirate, who was now moaning. He fired one final time and the pirate collapsed.

The last pirate seethed with fury and leapt at him, firing energy bolts from one hand and swinging the energy blade with the other. Trace used this to his advantage and allowed one energy bolt to hit him, which caused him to fall back. The blade missed by a millimeter. Without the energy bolts, Trace would have been sliced in two. He jumped forward, grabbing the pirates' wrist and pulling forward.

Caught off guard, the sword slid easily from the pirates's grasp. The pirate stared in complete shock and Trace slashed, slicing the pirate's head off, the body falling limply, and the forcefields vanished. Trace threw the fading energy blade aside carelessly and headed to the elevator. He would finish the Dark League himself, with or without the other hunters!

Samus scowled as she ducked another energy blade slash. The pirates were just too fast. It was great that she and Sylux had beaten the newcomer pirate, but the other 2 were still battling. Sylux fired his Shock Coil at his opponent, draining its energy, but overall doing no damage whatsoever. Samus fired a missile at her opponent, but it dodged by vanishing into the shadows, reappearing to her left. She spun around, firing the Imperialist, striking her target.

Sylux smirked slightly as his constant Shock Coil lock on his opponent began to take its toll. The energy bolts the Space Pirate was firing had no effect on Sylux, so great was his energy recovery. He grinned as the pirate twitched, the energy coursing through it was definitelty penetrating the armor's abilities.

"Let me guess...you're either really recent or they gave you weak armor?" Sylux asked the weakening pirate.

"Weak...armor...not...elite...for the...better armor..." the pirate panted, before collapsing lifelessly. Sylux sighed and fired the Imperialist, finishing off Samus' opponent as well.

"Nice one!" Samus commented. Sylux nodded as they hurried through the labyrinth corridors that they were currently in. The exit had to be around here somewhere...

Weavel fired his Battlehammer relentlessly, disappointed on the force barriers the Dark Hunter conjured to block the shots.

"You're not nearly strong enough!" the Dark Hunter explained calmly, now conjuring barrier to block Kanden's Volt Driver shots as well.

"We beat you once, we can do it again!" Kanden snapped, as the Dark Hunter laughed.

"You played no part in my death! The Hyper Beam did. But my current armor is an upgrade, equal to that of the Dark Master! You can't win." The Dark Hunter vanished into the shadows, emerging behind the hunters.

"You could have all the power you want to accomplish your goals...whether it be power, revenge, or anything else!" the Dark Hunter whispered and Kanden scowled.

"Like we forgot what you did to us last time!" he snapped coldly. Weavel looked blank and the Dark Hunter laughed.

"You were saying? What is it I did to invoke such hatred?" he sneered.

"You showed us illusions when we nearly died!" Kanden bellowed.

"So what? You were weak then, and I see that hasn't changed. You're fighting what you should be trying to control. Dark Armor could give you anything you ever wanted. Acceptance, power, and fear. You've seen Sylux when he gave in to the armor, and he was stronger than ever before! You two could be the same!" the Dark Hunter studied them a moment and vanished into the shadows. Weavel seemed deep in thought while Kanden scoffed.

"What a liar!" Kanden muttered angrily.

"Ok, let's go!" Weavel said absently, and they walked through the door on the other side of the conference room, revealing an elevator ahead. They hurried to it and traveled down slowly, both deep in thought. Weavel was wondering whether Dark Armor would truly make him greater, maybe even good enough to regain his status from the Space Pirate Army...Kanden was wondering whether Dark Armor was really as good as it was advertised. Despite his protests to the contrary, Kanden really wanted the power the Armor offered.

"Status?" The Dark Master asked as the Dark Hunter reappeared.

"I think they'll be tempted enough to experiment. They will belong to us!" the Dark Hunter said triumphantly. He looked at the two armored krikens. "What have you 2 been doing? Slacking?" he asked with a smirk. Servu attempted to lunge at the Dark Hunter, but Drek tripped him.

"Let it go, Servu!" Drek hissed impatiently. Servu hissed in fury, but didn't continue his attack attempt.

"Don't worry...the hunters will all meet their doom before they come anywhere near us!" the Dark Master mused. He placed 2 black crystals on the table nearby. One was the silhouette of Kanden, the other of Weavel.

"Soon the Dark League's ranks shall increase, and 2 more elites shall join us!" the master said triumphantly.

Samus and Sylux spent several minutes trying to escape the labyrinth until they finally found an elevator. They entered and pressed a button, waiting as the elevator slowly descended towards the labs of the Dark League. Sylux was thinking hard. Odds are, there would be Dark Armor in the labs, so he had to be careful not to touch it.

His last experience with Dark Armor wasn't a very fond memory. He had been consumed by hatred, which blinded him to the side effects of the armor. It was a gift and a curse in one. It increased your abilities, but slowly drained free will until at last you were acting without thinking, without caution. It was that factor that led to his hatred of the black enhancer. He had sided with the other hunters so he could avenge his mistakes. At all costs, he would help destroy the Dark League!


	14. The Labs part 1

Samus and Sylux exitted the elevator, emerging in a dark corridor lit by torches. They walked quickly, but cautiously, wary of danger. After a few turns, they appeared in a small square room with doors that branched to different rooms. "So...what has the League been working on?" Sylux murmured, fascinated. The room they were in had a few large glass tubes where protoypes were stored.

"Take a look at this, Sylux." Samus said worriedly, pointing at one of the experiments.

"What the..." Sylux said in horror. It was a young metroid, but it was encased in Dark Armor.

"I don't even want to know what that thing can do with Dark Armor..." Samus said quietly.

"It can do several things, Miss Aran!" laughed a cold voice and both turned to face the armored Vhozon.

"What do you mean?" Sylux asked coldly. Ice chuckled.

"Well...unlike the normal metroids, this one is immune to extreme temperatures! In addition, it was born with Dark Armor, so it can never be separated from it!" Ice sneered.

"Literally, or it's fatal if it does?" Samus asked calmly. Ice's cruel smile widened.

"Literally. The metroid was born with the armor, so it is infused with it to the extent that removal is impossible!" Ice snickered.

"What else?" Sylux asked, shaking with fury.

"It feeds on lifeforce as all metroids do, but it also converts the energy to Dark Armor. The master suggested this when the supply ran low. It took a while to perfect, but this is a creature known as a Dark Metroid!" Ice said triumphantly.

"I don't get it. It's a metroid with Dark Armor. How does that create Dark Armor?" Samus asked.

"No, it's a metroid infused with Dark Armor. A Dark Metroid is hatched with Dark Armor already on it. Think, Samus! The armor enhances its abilities while it's being born! This means it is a metroid with unprecedented powers! It makes the Super Metroid hatchling look weak, and this is a baby metroid! Think of an adult Dark Metroid!" Ice cackled.

"What else can it do?" Sylux asked.

"So perceptive Sylux! The Dark Metroid's abilities were enhanced as it was hatching, so it has natural abilities exceeding all other metroids. It's faster, stronger, more defensive, and its armor makes it invincible since it has been attached all its life!" Ice explained with a laugh.

"How was it born with Dark Armor?" Samus asked abruptly. Ice looked momentarily stunned.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Ice replied and raised his weapon, firing the icy bolts of the Judicator, striking both hunters, knocking them to the ground.

"Farewell, hunters!" Ice sneered flipping a switch and blasting the control.

"Warning! Dark Metroid containment released. Five minute delay until release!" a voice warned as a red light flashed.

"And to ensure you cant escape..." Ice said, flipping another switch, creating a forcefield orb around Samus and another around Sylux.

"The field is released in 6 minutes, but you will be doomed then!" Ice said, vanishing. 2 timers appeared on the computer nearby. **4:59** and **5:59**. Samus stared at the Dark Metroid with horror. It was moving in its containment tube excitedly, as if knowing that feeding time was near.

"Don't worry, you have a chance to fight! Just not very long! The elevator escape is deactivated, and the only way out is to deactivate the security lock, which you need a password for! The Dark Master created it himself, and he's the only one who knows it! Good-bye hunters!" Ice said grinning and vanishing.

Sylux turned to Samus and said conversationally, "Now what?"

The Dark Master turned towards Ice as he reappeared in the throne room. "You know the next step, Ice. Don't report everytime you accomplish or fail to accomplish something!" the master said wearily.

"Sir, they'll soon be devoured by the Dark Metroid." Ice said anyway. The master's eyes burned red for a moment.

"You're risking the baby metroid? It's too young to fight! It's barely a hatchling, and you're having it face the greatest hunter in the world and a mediocre one? Would you like it if I had your children face Trace or Drek?" the master said dangerously. Ice was taken aback.

"Sir? You think they will win?" Ice asked, confused. Servu scowled.

"Why wasn't I included in that last comment?" he yelled. Drek smirked. Ignoring this, the master snarled slightly as he replied to Ice.

"Just do the job. I hope for your sake the metroid hatchling is unharmed! We need it!" the master waved his hand dismissively and Ice shrugged before vanishing once more.

Noxus and Spire exitted their elevator and appeared in a circular room, a door on the other end.

"That's the way to the labs, right?" Spire asked. Noxus shrugged.

"No idea..." he admitted. They studied the room, wary of an attack.

"Surely, by now you realized the enemy cannot be seen?" sneered an unfamilar voice. 5 armored humanoids appeared, carrying laser rifles.

"Human members?" Spire asked scathingly, and the commander nodded, raising a rocket launcher.

"Good-bye hunters!" the commander said with a grin and the troopers opened fire. A forcefield blocked the exit and entrance. The laser rifles fired intense laser bolts at the hunters. Noxus spun into Vhoscythe while Spire charged his Magmaul, dodging the bolts as quickly as he could. He released the charge, watching as the nearest trooper stumbled, trying to withstand the burn the Magmaul inflicted upon the target.

Spire continued firing his Magmaul at the trooper, dodging the soldiers' weapons. Noxus' Vhosycthe blade spun, striking the commander, who stumbled before firing the launcher. The impact of the rocket was so great it threw Noxus aside limply. Noxus recovered quickly, firing his Judicator as he returned to biped. The armored troopers ignored the shots, firing their weapons enthusiastically.

Spire grunted as bolts hit him, but he recovered after a moment, firing the Imperialist, disabling the rocket launcher. Unfortunately, it detonated the rocket inside the launcher as well, which exploded with the force of a bomb, knocking all the human troopers aside. The commander, being closest to the explosion, was killed, the others minorly injured. They fired their weapons with a vengance, the beams narowly missing the hunters.

Noxus had switched to the Imperialist as well and fired with as much accuracy as he could. The targeted troopers clearly weren't very bright, and made no attempt to dodge the beams. Noxus and Spire fired their weapons, destroying the trooper's laser rifles with no resistance. The startled trooper backed away in shock as the hunters fired their Imperialists, finishing them off. The forcefield at the end of the corridor faded and they hurried towards it.

They entered a square room with doors branching to different rooms. This room had mainly just experimental computers and data. Noxus immediately walked over to one and began examining the files, Spire looking over his shoulder.

"Hm, think they examined the Light Beam?" Noxus asked, still searching the files.

"Probably. What makes you think they kept it, rather than destroy it?" Spire asked.

"I dunno, ask Trace. He's the one who mentioned it." Noxus replied.

"Where are they?" Spire asked.

"Not in this room." Noxus replied. Spire shrugged.

"Think we should look elsewhere?" he asked a few moments later.

"Yeah, the encryption's too good." Noxus said wearily. They headed for 2 different doors and walked through them. Noxus emerged in a circular room where a shadowy figure stood, waiting.

"Just my luck." Noxus said bitterly as a forcefield sealed the only door (the one behind him).

"I wondered whether you'd be coming, Noxus. Prepare yourself now! This is the last fight you'll ever do!" Ice said with a smirk.

"We'll see!" Noxus replied, raising his Judicator.

Spire, on the other hand, emerged in a lab where samples of Dark Armor were stored for experimentation.

"Just my luck!" Spire said in annoyance as a forcefield sealed the door he had come from. The door on the other side of the room was open, and the last door in the room led to the left. Spire hesitated, unsure of which door to enter.

At that moment, the door across the room entered and Kanden and Weavel came in, muttering to each other. They froze at the sight of Spire. It took a moment, but they realized it was him.

"Oh good. Just Spire!" Kanden said. Spire rolled his eyes.

"I'm going this way. See you later!" Spire said, walking through the door to the left. He appeared in a new room and scowled.

"How many rooms are here?" he asked in annoyance.

"Lots, duh!" Trace said, entering the room.

"Oh...hi Trace." Spire said nervously, unsure of Trace's current mood. Trace grinned.

"The second elevator should be this way!" he explained, gesturing to another door. Spire shrugged and both went through the door, entering the elevator, the feeling of apprehension growing as the elevator descended.


	15. The Labs part 2

Weavel and Kanden exitted the elevator and entered the next room. Directy in front of them, across the room, was a figure. They paused, raising their weapons defensively.

"Oh good, Just Spire." Kanden said in relief. Spire stared at them a moment and walked towards a door to the right.

"I'm going this way. See you later!" Spire said, walking through the door. The door was sealed with a forcefield.

"Oh, that's great!" Weavel said sarcastically. Kanden's eyes narrowed as he glanced around the room.

"I wonder..." he mused walking towards a containment tube that was placed in a corner. Lights lit up the tube and Weavel looked over in interest.

"Dark Armor?" Kanden whispered.

"Not just any Dark Armor...that's the armor of the elite members!" the Dark Hunter said coldly, appearing in the room.

"What's your point?" Kanden asked suspiciously.

"Simple, the Dark Armor for elites is stronger than the Dark Armor of other members. It gives more power than the weaker armor. It also is immune to all weaponry!" the Dark Hunter said with a grin.

"What about the Hyper Beam?" Kanden asked.

"Since it was destroyed, I don't think that is an important question!" the Dark Hunter replied icily. Kanden whirled around and fired his Volt Driver at the Dark Hunter, who calmly created force barriers to block the bolts.

"Nice try, but without the armor, you're too weak!" the Dark Hunter sneered. Kanden ignored him, firing as fast as he could. Weavel fired his Battlehammer, which hit the Dark Hunter's head, reflecting off. Weavel ducked in time, and the explosion destroyed the containment tank.

"Excellent!" the Dark Hunter said with a laugh, vanishing and reappearing behind them, kicking them forward, away from the armor.

"You're too weak for this armor, anyway. Only skilled creatures can use it. Like Samus could easily use and control its power!" the Dark Hunter added.

_You're worthless, Weavel! You're fired from the rank of general until you prove your competence! _Weavel shook off the memory of his humiliation after losing the Omega Cannon at the Alimbic Cluster.

_Oh, you're an idiot. You fail and come back? Get out of here. The Space Pirate army is for elites, not washed up wannabes! _Weavel scowled, ridding his mind of the final humiliation.

"I'm strong enough!" Weavel burst out, to the Dark Hunter's glee.

"Prove it!" the Dark Hunter challenged. Weavel fired his Battlehammer, but the Dark Hunter withdrew his Goo Gun with alarming agility, firing the black goo projectile. The Battlehammer shots and the goo connected, forming a beam that emitted from their weapons. The Dark Hunter smiled.

"How easily you forget. My weapon mimics and absorbs the abilities of projectiles it battles, and enhances my power. Ultimately, my weapon will be stronger, and overcome yours!" the Dark Hunter laughed as Weavel struggled to break the beam. Kanden fired his Volt Driver, but the Dark Hunter created more force barriers, blocking the shots.

"You'll never win!" the Dark Hunter mocked. Weavel released the trigger of his Battlehammer, and the Goo projectile struck him with the force of the Battlehammer, knockng him to the ground. The Dark Hunter looked taken aback at his surrender to the battle. Kanden looked puzzled.

"Why'd you do that?" Kanden asked. Weavel stood, a look of malice upon his face.

"Because...I know what I need to win!" Weavel snarled, lunging forward. The Dark Hunter sidestepped the lunge, but Weavel continued past him, throwing himself towards the Dark Armor.

"Weavel!" Kanden yelled in shock. The black energy engulfed Weavel, creating the armor around him. As Kanden and the Dark Hunter watched, Weavel turned, eyes glowing red. Kanden flinched and stepped back. The Dark Hunter looked amused.

"Try me now!" Dark Weavel sneered and fired his Battlehammer. The Dark Hunter scoffed and fired his Goo Gun. The bolts connected again, but this time, the Battlehammer bolts pushed the goo back. The Dark Hunter smirked.

"Good job Weavel...the anger...let it make the decisions. Let it enhance your power! It feels good, the power flowing through you! It will make you stronger than anyone else!" the Dark Hunter said quietly. The Battlehammer bolts continued their relentless barrage, and the Dark Hunter focused a moment. The goo enveloped the bolts, repelling the shots back at Weavel, who blocked them with his arm, smirking as it did no damage.

"Not bad..." the Dark Hunter conceded. Kanden smirked. If Weavel was stronger with the armor, he would be too. He ran towards the armor allowing it to envelop him. He focused on the rage that he had suppressed for over a year, and felt the power flow through him. The Dark Hunter hadn't been giving Weavel advice, he was convincing Kanden. Kanden grinned as his eyes glowed red a moment, and returned to normal.

"Give your abilities a test run! Then come to the throne room!" the Dark Hunter said with a smile and vanished into the shadows. Weavel and Kanden smirked. This was just the beginning of their ultimate darkness. Before long, they would defeat the other hunters and preserve the Dark League.

In the throne room, the Dark Master looked up as the Dark Hunter entered.

"I know. Congratulations!" the Dark Master said before the Dark Hunter could say anything. The master held up 2 crystals, one was the silhouette of Weavel, the other of Kanden. The crystals created the silhouettes on the stone tablets behind the thrones.

"6 elites?" Drek asked coolly.

"Yes, Drek. 6 elites. Jealous or something? Then do the assigned task. Servu, you too!" the master replied. The krikens smiled and vanished.

"Think they'll succeed?" the Dark Hunter asked.

"Doesn't matter. Weavel will get the shot first." the master replied simply.

"Then they don't know the target?" the Dark Hunter asked, puzzled.

"They know the target. They will be withdrawn early. We need them on guard." the master said indifferently.

Servu and Drek reappeared moments later in one of the lab rooms.

"Wrong room?" Servu asked. The place was too like a maze.

"Hm...I'd say so. Huh?" Drek was startled by the sight of the trapped Samus and Sylux.

"Ah, the soon to be victims of the Dark Metroid. Makes me wonder what the master was upset about." Servu mused. **3:12... 4:12**.

"It's only a matter of time...what a pity." Drek said with a chuckle, examining the baby metroid, which was positively glaring at them if it had eyes.

"What's a pity?" Sylux yelled.

"Oh, that the baby metroid will die. It's so cute!" Drek replied. There was a silence as the three inhabitants of the room gawked at him, the metroid had floated as far away as possible.

"Are you serious?" Servu finally asked. Drek sighed.

"Let's go." he said, and the krikens vanished. Samus and Sylux stared.

"Did he say a metroid was cute?" Sylux asked.

"Well, the Super Metroid hatchling was." Samus admitted. Sylux moaned.

"Why am I hearing this?" he asked miserably. Samus laughed.

Spire and Trace exitted the elevator and appeared to be in th typical dungeon.

"So, what cell is it in?" Trace asked sarcastically. Spire shrugged and they walked quickly through the dark corridor, passing empty cells until they reached a door. They entered and appeared in a large room. In the center of the room was a pedestal with a strange item on it. It was pure white, emitting a faint glow in the dark room. Trace seized it and grinned.

"At last...the darkness destroying weapon is mine! The Light Beam!" he grinned and equipped it.

"SECURITY BREACH! ALL SECURITY TO DUNGEONS!" a voice blared.

"Dammit!" Trace swore angrily as they ran back towards the elevator.

"SECURITY BREACH! ALL SECURITY TO DUNGEONS!" the voice blared in the throne room.

"Shut it off!" the Dark Master said in annoyance. The Dark Hunter pressed a button and the alarm shut off.

"Faster than expected, but not fast enough." the master mused. The Space Pirate leader appeared.

"Master? Now?" the pirate asked.

"Yes. You're the last pirate though. Good luck!" the master said indifferently. As the pirate vanished, Weavel and Kanden appeared in the room.

"I like the shadow teleportation." Kanden said immediately to the Dark Hunter, not noticing the Dark Master yet. Weavel glanced at the throne and flinched. A tall, skeletal figure sat there, also armored. A strange aura came from the figure, who was regarding them with amusement.

"You're...the Dark Master, aren't you?" Weavel asked. The master smiled, sending a chill through him.

"Indeed. Now...I have a job for you, Weavel. There was a security breach, but not to worry about it yet. I have other people dealing with it. However, I need you as a backup in case of disaster. Here..." the master waved a thin hand and the Battlehammer glowed black.

"Dark Battlehammer is the dark version. It has the ability to counter light. I can only do that to a few weapons, so count yourself lucky. Now go!" the master explained. Weavel nodded and after a pause vanished. The master smiled. His plans would not fail. Even if they did, they could never defeat him!


	16. Encounter

Noxus glared at the armored Vhozon standing across the room from him.

"What's wrong, Nox? Scared? You should be! After all, you know that I've worn the Dark Armor for years!" Ice sneered. Noxus scowled and fired his Judicator. At the same time, Ice did the same. The icy bolts hit in midair, shattering the other bolt.

"Not bad, Nox! Let's see if you're better than I expected..." Ice murmured, firing again, but instead of the transparent purple color, it was black. The bolt struck Noxus in the chest and he yelled in pain as he fell to the ground.

"Like it? Any Dark League member can use the Dark version of their weapons! All they need is to transfer rage into power! You see Nox, the reason the League needs to use their rage is not to corrupt them, but to help them! You can't see how much better the League truly is!" Ice gloated, firing again. Noxus ducked, but the bolt bounced from the wall and hit him in the back. Noxus groaned in pain as Ice laughed, slowly advancing on him, amusement apparent on his face.

"It's over, Nox...you're all alone. Defenseless. I can't imagine who could help, or even who would want to. Samus and Sylux will be food for the Dark Metroid, and Weavel and Kanden will join our ranks!" Ice laughed at the sudden look of shock upon Noxus' face, but the emotion vanished immediately and Noxus returned to his feet.

"It's not over yet!" Noxus said, firing his Judicator. Ice was faster, sidestepping the bolt and firing at point blank range. Noxus cried out and fell back to the ground, rolling to return to his feet, firing again. Slightly impressed, Ice blocked the shot with his armored arm.

"You're not strong enough to win, Nox." Ice said quietly.

"I don't need to win yet." Noxus replied. Ice blinked in confusion.

"You're sealed in the room until one of us leaves. Since you can't, you either need to kill me or die yourself." Ice said bitterly.

"No. I know precisely how I'll escape." Noxus said calmly. Ice felt a strange thrill of panic. According to the Dark Hunter, Noxus had correctly predicted the Dark Hunter's demise. What if Noxus knew something that would enable him to kill him as well?

"You're bluffing!" Ice snarled, firing his Judicator again. Noxus smirked and fired the Imperialist, striking the Judicator.

"WHAT?!" Ice shrieked in shock. The black Judicator bolt missed Noxus, rebounding and striking Ice, who gasped, stumbling backwards. Noxus fired a missile, which hit Ice, who blinked.

"Was that a dud? It didn't hurt." Ice said coolly. "No, it was an Alt-Disabling missile." Noxus said, grinning. Ice looked shocked.

"Pity...you were right this time, but I'll be back! Not to worry Nox, soon you'll be dead!" Ice sneered, vanishing into the shadows as the forcefield door slid open. Noxus ran out towards another door. His only hope at the time being was to help Samus and Sylux before it was too late!

Ice emerged at the throne room a few moments later.

"That was fast." the Dark Master said with a sneer.

"I underestimated him. Won't happen again." Ice promised.

"Recover..." the master hissed and the disabling effects faded. Kanden smiled coldly as Ice glanced at him.

"I assume there is a problem?" Ice asked.

"A security breach. Nothing more. I have troops already assembled for the task." The master replied dismissively.

"Very well..." Ice said calmly.

Spire fired his Magmaul ahead of them, lighting up the chamber of the magma ball bounced.

"Good idea!" Trace said, checking the download time of the Light Beam.

"Not good enough!" said an amused voice behind them. Spire turned and saw a Space Pirate smirking evilly.

"I am the Space Pirate leader. Your mission ends with me!" the pirate hissed. Trace fired his Imperialist at the figure, who dodged easily.

"Too predictable, kriken!" the pirate sneered, firing a beam of black energy. Spire leapt to the side, firing Magmaul shots. The pirate vanished and appeared behind Spire, slamming its claws into Spire's back. Spire grunted as the pirate laughed. Spire fell to his knees, feeling energy being drained from his body. Trace fired the Omega Cannon at the pirate, who screeched in shock and pain, vanishing again, reappearing a few feet away.

"Never underestimate me!" Trace said coldly.

"You could join us, Trace!" the pirate snapped.

"Nah, I prefer to destroy the League!" Trace said with a smirk, firing another Omega Cannon burst. Spire returned to his feet, most energy returned to him. The pirate vanished again, appearing behind Trace. Spire slammed his fist into the pirate's face delighted at the solid thud he heard as the pirate soared through the air, slamming into the wall, dazed.

Trace fired the Imperialist at the pirate, but the pirate vanished again, reappearing to Spire's left. Spire punched at the pirate, but the pirate ducked and fired black energy bolts into Spire's chest. Spire's eyes bulged slightly and he collapsed limply to the ground.

"Now for you..." the pirate said coversationally, turning to Trace.

"That's enough!" said another voice and the pirate turned to face the voice. Trace took the opportunity to shoot the Imperialist into the pirate's head. The pirate gasped in agony, and a second shot made it buckle, the third made it fall to the ground, and the fourth killed it. Trace fell to one knee panting. Trace looked towards the voice and saw Drek and Servu standing there. Trace looked at them quizzically, but cautiously.

"Ah, stupid pirate anyway." Servu said in disgust.

"Enlighten me. Why did you distract the pirate?" Drek yelled at Servu.

"We were ordered, Drek, to take Trace alive! Why do you care anyway?" Servu sneered.

"It's out of character to help someone who hate." Spire said weakly.

"I still hate Trace, you stupid boulder! The master ordered Trace be captured alive!" Servu spat.

"I'm not going anywhere!" Trace said fiercely.

"We aren't giving you an option, idiot!" Drek said coldly. Trace recoiled in shock and Servu smirked.

"Looks like no one cares for you, Trace!" Servu hissed.

"Shut up!" Trace said dangerously.

"I don't fear you, Trace. You don't need to act tough!" Servu mocked.

"It's not very good acting either. You always were the weak hearted bug!" Drek added sinisterly. Trace raised his weapon threateningly. Servu laughed.

"The question is, Tracey...who do you want to shoot first? Me, the one you hate, or Drek, the disowned and hateful brother?" Servu whispered. Trace kept pointing his weapon at Servu, then Drek, and back again. Spire was slowly recovering.

"Don't make me kill you!" Drek said coldly, now pointing his own weapon at Trace. Servu kept his weapon on Spire, who had his weapon pointed at Servu.

"Interesting chain of events!" sneered another voice. Spire jerked in shock, his weapon pointed at the newcomer.

"Weavel?" Spire breathed. Weavel grinned, stepping from the darker shadows, his armor gleaming in the torchlight.

"We have this covered!" Servu yelled at Weavel, who smirked.

"Think I care?" Weavel challenged. Trace backed away from the others, inching towards the elevator. Spire noticed this, and slamed his fist into Weavel. Weavel blocked with one hand.

"Weak." Weavel said, flipping Spire over his head, slamming the Diamont to the ground. In the brief confusion, no one noticed Trace's sprint to the elevator until a second later.

"There he goes!" Servu shrieked in fury. Drek's Imperialist shot missed Trace by an inch, who yelled in shock, but kept going. Servu's shot was over Trace's head. Trace entered the elevator, firing the Omega Cannon into the corridor as the door closed. He regretted leaving Spire behind, but he was the one they wanted. He hurried through the next room, knowing there would soon be pursuers.

Back at the throne room, the Dark Master stared at the visual.

"Well, well. It appears as though there's been a comeback. Ice was repelled and Trace is on the run. Amusing isn't it?" he asked the figure nearby.

"Um...master. Why are you asking me if my getting repelled was amusing?" Ice asked.

"Because Drek and Servu aren't here to make fun of you." the master replied without missing a beat. Ice scowled.

"They lost too!" Ice said.

"Actually, they didn't. Only the pirate lost. You can escape without winning a fight." Kanden interrupted. Ice shot him a dirty look, but otherwise ignored the comment.

"You can run...but you'll never escape the Dark League." the master said quietly, facing the visual again.

"He's not trying to escape." Kanden said. Ice looked at him in confusion.

"He's going to attack." Kanden explained.

"Then stop him, Kanden." the master replied simply, while the Dark Hunter smiled with amusement. Kanden shrugged and vanished into the shadows.


	17. Chaotic Events part 1

Trace hurried through another room, and then stopped short. Forcefields had appeared, sealing off all the other doors. He scowled, searching carefully for his enemy. The figure appeared almost immediately and Trace blinked, not overly surprised by Kanden's arrival.

"Hello, Trace." Kanden said quietly, staring at Trace. Trace didn't reply, just stood there. Kanden scowled.

"No greeting? What a shame. I assume you know why I'm here." Kanden said coldly.

"Because the Dark Armor you acquired further corrupted your mental processing, causing you to believe that you are powerful and that you obey some crazy person and hunt former allies?" Trace guessed. Kanden paused to figure out what Trace had just said.

"I see the armor doesn't increase intelligence, but rather, it lowers it. You were normally very smart, Slug head." Trace said with a slight grin. Kanden ignored this and raised his Volt Driver.

"Prepare to fall!" he hissed. Trace smiled and aimed his Imperialist. They looked at the other a moment before bursting into action. Kanden fired a charged Volt Driver shot, and Trace morphed to Triskelion, lunging to dodge the blast, then lunged again to strike Kanden, who merely grunted and fired his Volt Driver again. Trace easily avoided this shot and returned to biped, firing his Imperialist. Kanden dodged easily and fired back, his rapid fire shots missing Trace by inches.

Trace rolled forward and fired again, but Kanden blocked the intended headshot with his arm, merely grunting in pain. Trace scowled in annoyance and Kanden smirked chillingly.

"I am so much more powerful now!" Kanden gloated, firing again. The bolts hit Trace, shocking him with more power than normal. Trace gasped as the pain left him, staggering slightly.

"My power is not to be ignored, Trace." Kanden hissed, firing again. Trace fired his Imperialist at the same time, and their bolts connected, creating a brief flash. In the momentary confusion, Trace stepped slightly to the left. Kanden fired eagerly at Trace, without moving his aim at all. Trace smiled and fired his Imperialist. Kanden ducked, now aware of Trace's earlier movement. He fired his Volt Driver again, but Trace leapt to the side, morphing to Triskelion midleap.

He lunged forward, but Kanden leapt over him, transforming to Stinglarva. The armored slug slithered quickly towards the Triskelion, unleashing miniature bombs, which homed in on Trace. Trace hastily returned to biped, leaping over the hazards. Kanden also returned to biped. Trace felt a bit tired, but Kanden was still full of energy.

Samus glared at the computer timer. It was almost to 0, and then the metroid would be released. **1:00**...and **2:00**. Sylux had already begun preparing to fight, even if it were all for nothing. Samus admired his spirit, but deep down she knew they couldn't defeat the creature. Time was running out.

The Dark Hunter studied the visual. The master looked slightly amused by the chaotic events.

"Time is almost out for all of our enemies. Noxus' flight will be for naught, and Sylux and Samus will die. Spire will be captured and Trace shall be defeated. We lost most of our members, but we will win the war." the master mused. The Dark Hunter nodded.

Weavel scowled as Trace successfully escaped into the elevator, firing the Omega Cannon as the doors closed. He vanished into the shadows last second, grinning as he reappeared behind a cell wall. The flash of light lit up the room briefly and it appeared that Drek and Servu retreated in the same fashion. Spire groaned as the energy released threw him a few feet backwards, where he landed painfully. Weavel smirked as he turned to the former ally.

"Let's see what you get for messing up the plan, eh Diamont?" Weavel mocked, raising his weapon. Spire stood up shakily and aimed his Magmaul at Weavel.

"Ready?" Weavel whispered. Servu and Drek watched in interest as the hunters stared each other down. Spire snarled in response and fired his charged Magmaul. Weavel dodged easily and chuckled.

"Too predictable!" Weavel hissed, firing his Battlehammer. Instead of the regular green orb of energy, a black one was fired instead, and it exploded with a larger radius of black energy. Spire was knocked off his feet and stared in surprise.

"Like it?" Weavel asked with a sneer.

"Not really!" Spire replied angrily, firing his Imperialist. Weavel blocked the shot with his arm and fired his Dark Battlehammer again, but Spire rolled into Dialanche, then charged Weavel in that form. Weavel responded by splitting into halfturret, which was also armored, and the turret fired black Battlehammer rounds. Spire tried to dodge, but was unable to in the narrow corridor. Weavel smirked as he returned to biped.

"Why don't you try again?" Weavel jeered and Spire returned to biped. He would fight as hard and long as he could. It would help Trace escape and use the Light Beam, since the pursuers were watching the battle.

"See the power that I possess, Diamont?" Weavel mocked, lazily firing his Dark Battlehammer. Spire felt the last of his energy deplete and he struggled to stand. Weavel grinned and fired again. The last ounce of strength left him and he fell to the ground weakly.

"Now what?" Weavel whispered, easily pushing his limp form into one of the cells and sealing the door. Everything went black.

**0:01**...**1:01**. Time had run out for Samus and Sylux. The first timer reached 0, and the containment chamber opened, releasing the Dark Metroid hatchling, that floated around the room with interest.

"Great...58 seconds to live." Sylux said, equipping his Shock Coil.

"Unless the other hunters arrive within the next minute and kill the thing." Samus said optimistically. Sylux sighed.

Kanden smirked as Trace seemed to tire.

"What's wrong? Can't fight?" Kanden mocked. Trace ignored him and fired his Imperialist. Kanden dodged and fired a rapid fire volley of Volt Driver shots, striking him in the chest. Trace fell to the ground, rolling to return to his feet and firing again. He felt dizzy from the volts of the Volt Driver, but refused to give up. All he had to do was wait for the Light Beam to finish downloading, and he'd be able to beat Kanden. Why did it take so long?

He fired again, to no avail. Kanden grinned and lunged forward with great speed, charging his Volt Driver and releasing it at point blank range. Trace yelled in pain as he was launched off his feet, slamming into the wall, vision distorted from the Volt Driver blast. Kanden laughed and charged his weapon again. It was time to finish this battle, and prove the power of the armor he wore.

Noxus hurried down another random corridor, feeling frustrated. Why did the labs have to be a maze? How was he supposed to find Samus and Sylux and save them from doom? He turned another corner and groaned. He was back in a room he had gone through earlier!

Samus and Sylux completed their preparations for a pointless battle. **0:10**...they nodded to each other confidently, to hide their own sense of terror as they looked at the Dark Metroid hatchling. It had floated closer as the timer went down. **0:02**...**0:01**...

"This is it!" Sylux said, readying the Shock Coil. **0:00**. The forcefields vanished and the Dark Metroid lunged forward eagerly. Samus fired a missile at point blank range, knocking the small metroid around. It squealed happily and lunged again. Sylux fired the Shock Coil, the beam of neutrinos striking the metroid, holding it in place. Samus fired her own Shock Coil at the metroid as well, hoping the double attack would stop it. The metroid backed up a bit and the Shock Coil lost its hold on the metroid.

It squealed happily again, which was both cute and very scary. It floated around aimlessly for a few seconds before resuming the attack. Both hunters fired their Shock Coils again, but the metroid dodged the shot with great speed and trid to latch onto Sylux. Sylux flipped into Lockjaw and rolled as quickly as possible to the other side of the room. The metroid followed, squealing happily. Sylux raced back to the original side of the room, the metroid hot in pursuit. Sylux raced back to the other side, the metroid following.

Samus would have laughed if the metroid hadn't been dangerous. It was like a game of tag. Samus reluctantly fired a missile, knowing the metroid would pursue her next. In the process, Sylux would get a chance to recover. The metroid was batted away easily, and it hovered sadly a moment before going after her, as predicted. Sylux returned to biped, ready to help out when needed. Samus rolled into morph ball, boosting across the room. The metroid followed. She rolled in a circle around the room, and the metroid followed.

Samus returned to biped and fired another missile, knocking the metroid around, but ultimately was doing nothing to it. The armor was too powerful. Samus fired again, but the metroid dodged, instead targeting Sylux. The switch was so sudden that neither was prepared for it. Sylux fired his Shock Coil, but was too slow. The metroid latched onto him and he felt it begin to drain his energy.

He struggled and Samus fired the Judicator at it. As Ice said, the metroid gave no sign of the cold and Samus focused, trying not to panic. She fired the Imperialist with perfect accuracy and the metroid released Sylux, floating dizzily. Sylux fell to the ground, panting with exhaustion that had not been apparent earlier. The metroid recovered quickly and floated around happily, neither hunter taking their eyes from it.

"This is bad..." Samus said.

"Indeed it is, Samus! The Dark Metroid is more than anything else you've ever experienced!" the Dark Master sneered from the throne room. Drek and Servu appeared behind him, followed by Weavel.

"Spire's been captured!" Weavel announced. "Good. Your partner is already encountering Trace, and is about to win!" the master replied. Weavel nodded. Drek smirked upon seeing the visual of Samus and Sylux's attempts to beat the metroid.

"They're finished, as is all our opposition..." the master whispered.

TO BE CONTINUED...


	18. Chaotic Events part 2

Trace stared up at the armored Kanden, who was standing above him, charging the Volt Driver.

"It's all over, Trace!" Kanden laughed and fired. At the same time, Trace fired his Imperialist. The bolts hit in midair, causing the Volt Driver charge to explode. The blast radius hit Kanden, who was caught off guard.

"Argh!" Kanden yelled in pain and fury. Trace staggered to his feet and fired his Imperialist again, but Kanden blocked it with his arm.

"It's still not over, kriken!" Kanden raged, firing the Volt Driver indiscriminately around the room, Trace doing his best to avoid the shots. Kanden hissed in triumph as some of the shots hit Trace, who felt his energy get sapped away.

He yelled in shock as the last amount of his energy drained away. He hit the ground, knowing he was defeated. A small beep awoke him a second later. DOWNLOAD COMPLETE. He smiled triumphantly, an expression that made Kanden pause, narrowing his eyes.

"What's funny?" Kanden demanded. Trace equipped the Light Beam and fired. A beam of silver energy emerged from his weapon, striking Kanden in the chest. Kanden bellowed in agony, struggling against the light energy. The Dark Armor seemed to be fighting the beam as well, trying to repel it, as if the armor could sense the incoming doom of the beam.

"This isn't over!" Kanden shrieked, but Trace smled slightly as he slowly returned to his feet.

"Looks over." Trace pointed out, but Kanden bellowed in rage, falling to his knees.

"I'll be back, kriken!" Kanden vowed, vanishing into the shadows.

Kanden reappeared in the throne room and promptly collapsed weakly. Weavel hurried over to see what was wrong, while the Dark Master didn't even look at him.

"How unfortunate. It appears as though the armor Kanden is wearing isn't strong enough to withstand any degree of light energy. Sit the battle out, let the armor recover. Soon the armor will create a resistance to light energy," the master said. The Dark Hunter nodded.

"What's the next plan?" he asked.

"We don't need another plan. All is going perfectly." the master replied simply.

Noxus entered another room and sighed. It was such a large maze! How could he find Samus and Sylux? He tapped a communication unit.

"Samus, Sylux? Where are you?" he called. There was no response. He threw the unit across the room, watching it smash against the wall. He chose another door and went through it, annoyed to see he still had no clue where the others were.

Samus fired her missiles at the Dark Metroid hatchling, trying to repel it, but the effects were shortlived, and the metroid was getting bored with being knocked around. It lunged at her, but Sylux fired his Shock Coil, momentarily stunning it. The metroid broke free of the Coil, lunging at him instead. Samus fired one of her last missiles, and the metroid squealed in anger, continuing the lunge at Sylux, who was still weakened from the last attack.

Samus fired her Shock Coil and the metroid whined and broke the lock, continuing the attack at Sylux. Sylux flipped into Lockjaw, trying to escape. The metroid followed, now whining angrily. Suddenly, Noxus burst into the room and stopped short, taking in the scene and the danger. Sensing new prey, the metroid flew at him. Noxus fired a charged Judicator, freezing the metroid for less than 2 seconds.

"What?" Noxus protested, shocked.

"It's resistant to cold!" Samus explained firing her last missile, knocking the metroid aside. Noxus backed away from it, looking nervous.

"What can we do?" he asked finally.

"I don't think there's anything we can do!" Sylux said as the metroid lunged at Noxus again. They all fired Imperialists nearly at the same time, the 3 beams hitting the metroid simultaneously. The metroid was stunned a moment before shaking the effects off.

"It's stronger than I though!" Noxus said, panicking.

"Calm down! It's not over yet!" Samus said.

At the throne room, Ice laughed.

"Fight hunters...it makes the metroid hungry!" Ice sneered.

"Shut up, numbskull! If they harm it, you'll face the penalties!" the master said dangerously. Ice gulped nervously, while Drek and Servu smirked. The Dark Hunter was deep in thought, and Kanden was slowly recovering. Weavel was equally interested in the fight.

Trace stumbled through the next room and saw, to his horror, 3 armored humans.

"The last of the League?" Trace asked, receiving a scowl in return.

"You're barely strong enough to stand, kriken. Much less challenge the Dark League!" the humans said simultaneously. Unnerved, Trace fired his Imperialist, but the humans scattered formation, firing laser weapons. Trace dodged them, and fired the Light Beam. One of the humans tried to block the energy with his arm, but instead shrieked in agony as the light spread through his body, crippling the armor. Trace looked startled as the armor shattered easily, relinquishing the human from the armor.

"Why didn't that happen before?" Trace asked. The freed human looked at him a moment.

"I'll die soon...the armor corrupted me too much...it was a weak armor, no resistance to a weapon that strong. Thanks..." the human collapsed lifelessly. Trace looked at the shattered armor curiously, but it had melted and evaporated. He fired the Light Beam at the other 2 humans, but unlike the first, the armor didn't shatter, they just yelled as the beam pierced them.

"Fool! You'll never beat the Dark League!" one screamed at him as he fell, the purifying light draining his energy before he collapsed, lifeless. The third seemed to fight the light, like Kanden had done, but was no match for the second shot Trace fired, obliterating the entire armor. The human fell to the ground and stared up at Trace.

"Light can kill those of corrupt heart, weaken the armor, or destroy it. If one is truly corrupt, the effect of the weapon is more devastatng than one of unwilling corruption, although everyone has a dark essence. The armor brings it out, so the longer you have the armor, the more corrupt you truly become. Most will not survive the removal of the armor..." the human seemed to shudder. "I studied both the beam and the armor...the armor is stronger than you can imagine..." with that last warning, the human moved no more.

Trace looked startled. How long did it take to corrupt someone to the point of removal of the armor was fatal? Was there a chance to save Drek without killing him? Trace stepped into the next room and flinched. Samus, Sylux, and Noxus appeared to be battling a strange metroid, which seemed to be enveloped in Dark Armor.

"They put armor on everything!" Trace muttered, firing his Imperialist. Unfortunately, the beam pushed the metroid closer to Noxus, and it latched on to him eagerly.

"Damn!" Trace swore, arming the Light Beam and rushing over. Samus and Sylux stared at him in surprise and Noxus was screaming as the metroid drained his energy. Trace aimed at the metroid and fired the Light Beam at point blank range. The metroid squealed in agony, releasing Noxus, then lunging at Trace. Trace morphed to Triskelion, lunging away from the metroid, who lost interest and latched onto Samus, who yelled in shock and panic.

Trace returned to biped and fired the Light Beam, which hit the metroid again, making it squeal in pain again. It began to make whimpering noises, and Sylux stared at it in confusion.

"What next? It'll burst into tears?" Sylux asked cruelly. Noxus struggled to stand up again, where he had fallen after being drained.

"Finish it!" Noxus yelled. Trace nodded and fired. The metroid whimpered in fear as the beam struck it one last time. It squealed once and vanished. The armor had become so imbedded with the metroid's body that it was destroyed along with the armor. The hunters sighed in relief.

The Dark Master watched as the metroid vanished. Ice trembled in terror, waiting for the master to do something. After what felt like hours the master finally spoke, voice thick with rage.

"How unfortunate...we'll make them pay..." the master whispered furiously.

"Master...we're almost the last members!" the Dark Hunter said nervously.

"No matter. Weavel, do the task assigned!" the master said. Weavel nodded and vanished into the shadows. The Dark Master scowled in fury. Trace was no longer protected now. Before, he had agreed to minimize harm to the kriken, but those times were over!


	19. A Slight Twist

Spire awoke and stared around in confusion. What happened? Where was he? He saw the cell door and the memories returned to him in a flash. He had battled the corrupted Weavel and had been beaten. As a final humiliation, Weavel had locked him in this cell. He hoped Trace had gotten away with the Light Beam.

He at that moment felt afraid. He didn't fear Weavel or the Dark League itself. He wasn't sure what he feared at the moment, but a short while later knew. He feared loneliness. He was alone, and had always been alone. That was to be expected of a bounty hunter, especially with an unknown past. Now he didn't have a place to go, or galaxies to search because his past was known.

Now, alone in a cell with no knowledge of his allies reminded him of the struggles he endured to reach this point. He wondered whether anyone knew he was still alive, or where he was. He would never be found unless Trace returned, and Trace was unlikely to return here to see if he had survived.

Trace was quickly recovering from his earlier battles, and Samus, Sylux and Noxus seemed to be recovering as well.

"Thanks, Trace." Samus said. Trace shrugged, his attention diverted by a containment tank that had slightly filled with black goo.

"What is this?" he asked quietly.

"Energy stolen by the metroid, converted into Dark Armor." Samus explained. At that moment, Weavel appeared in the room, causing Samus to stare at him in shock a moment.

"Hello, rivals!" Weavel said with a leer.

"What?" Sylux yelled in shock.

"What, don't you like it?" Weavel asked with a laugh, firing his Battlehammer. Instead of green energy, black was fired, exploding with a greater blast radius and mor power. Trace was nearest the blast, and he staggered into the containment tank, knowing Weavel's next shot. The shot hit the tank, shattering the glass, causing the Dark Armor to latch onto Trace. He struggled against it, resisting its envelopment of him. No one moved, too startled by the turn of events.

"Spire still lives, Trace!" Weavel said with a grin and vanished into the shadows. Trace continued his struggled against the armor, slowly repelling it from him.

_Just relax, Trace. It'll do no harm to you. It will help you...replenishing your lost energy and giving you more stamina than before. Just give in to it, and you can rest._ Trace continued his struggle, but the soothing voice in his head caused him to stop struggling and the armor enveloped him gently, easily.

The other hunters had raised their weapons at him, looking anxious and ready for a fight. As soon as the armor solidified, a helmet also formed, protecting him. It wasn't nearly as bad as Trace had thought the armor was. It was so soothing and comfortable. He could think clearly without any distractions.

"Trace?" Noxus asked hesitantly. Trace looked at the armor a moment and looked at them.

"I'm fine...I'm okay. I'm not going to attack you." Trace said, seeming shocked at the lack of influence the armor had on him.

"Just be careful." Samus warned. Trace nodded in confirmation and puzzled this new development. The armor wasn't fighting his mind, or offering evil ideas. He didn't thirst to prove he was strong, or even any anger at all. Just a calming feeling and movement didn't take any energy at all. It was the strangest feeling, yet he liked it.

"So, how do we get out of here?" Trace asked.

"We need a password." Samus recalled as they went over to the computer nearby.

"Hmmm...what would the master of the League have as a password?" Sylux asked. Trace inserted a program disk and began typing furiously. In less than a minute, the doors opened. Everyone stared at Trace in awe.

"What, you know I'm a superb hacker!" Trace responded with a smile.

"So what's the destination?" Noxus asked.

"We need to rescue Spire..." Trace admitted finally.

"Where is he?" Sylux asked.

"Dungeons. We got separated when we were attacked after triggering an alarm." Trace said.

_Who cares about the Diamont?_ Trace easily deflected the thought and the other hunters apparently agreed to their destination.

The Dark Master smiled as he listened to Weavel's report of Trace's 'corruption'.

"Excellent. At least something good will come of the fiasco." the master said, glaring at Ice fiercely.

"Why isn't anything happening yet?" Servu asked.

"Several things. Trace is not in anger, so the armor doesn't immediately react. Trace also didn't seek the armor himself, but had it forced upon him. The armor is also quite fresh, so it doesn't warp the thoughts yet. However...it will strengthen overtime, and Trace has already accepted it. This will make it easier, as he will not fight it constantly. Soon, we will defeat the hunters. Lucky for Trace...as I will not order his demise for killing the baby metroid." the master explained. Ice shifted uncomfortably.

"So...who goes for the others?" Kanden asked.

"I will equip you with the Dark Volt Driver, Kanden. Weavel will take out our opposition." the master replied. Weavel nodded and vanished into the shadows. Kanden stepped forward to receive the new weapon upgrade.

Spire glanced up as he saw Weavel emerge from the shadows, regarding him with amusement.

"Awake are you, Diamont?" Weavel sneered.

"No, I sleep with my eyes open." Spire replied and Weavel chuckled cruelly.

"See you later, then!" Weavel sneered and vanished once more. Spire sighed. Was anyone aware of his capture? Did anyone actually care? Could he break the cell door? He stood up and slammed his fist against the cell door, nearly ripping it from the hinges. He smiled and wound up for the final blow to the door.

"Master!" the Dark Hunter suddenly yelled, pointing to the visual of Spire's escape. The master glanced at it for a moment.

"Playing rough, are you? Let's kick it up a notch!" the master whispered, focusing. On the visual, a black circle of energy appeared, surrounding the cell as a whole. Kanden looked confused, while Drek and Servu grinned. Ice smirked.

"The Dark Seal?" the Dark Hunter whispered.

"Of course. It's a very powerful energy seal that prevents anyone from entering or leaving. It has very limited range, and only one can be used at a time. Weavel will be the keeper. If he loses enough energy, the seal is broken. As a side effect, the keeper must be near the seal itself!" the master explained. Weavel nodded and vanished again.

"It at least decreases need for forcefields." the Dark Hunter mused.

Samus was still watching Trace cautiously. He seemed at ease, relaxed. It was comforting that he had control, but she wondered how long until he would lose control and be corrupted. Sylux seemed to be similarly anxious, and Noxus was clearly worried. Trace was the only one with any confidence, and he seemed almost too relaxed compared to the uptight Trace they knew.

Trace on the other hand, was ignoring the weird looks he had been receiving the last five minutes or so. They didnt bother him that much. He felt perfectly calm, and it was very soothing not to be worrying at all. They found the door to the dungeon elevator and entered. Trace smiled as they descended. It was time to rescue Spire and then beat the Dark League.


	20. Rescue

The elevator doors opened, depositing the hunters in a dark hallway lined with empty cells.

"A clear definition of dungeons." Sylux said. The hunters hurried down the hallway, attracted by the sound of banging.

"There he is!" Samus said, as Spire himself came into view. He appeared to have been banging on the cell door, with tremendous effect, but had suddenly been unable to do more damage.

"Spire...what are you doing?" Trace asked. Spire flinched upon seeing him in Dark Armor.

"I'm not corrupted!" Trace said. The others shrugged, uncertain whether this was true or not.

"Well, I suddenly can't make contact with the door!" Spire explained, demonstrating. Indeed, his fist stopped an inch from the door, which was curved outwards from his first punch. Sylux pointed at the ground, where a black circle had surrounded the cell.

"Maybe that has something to do with it?" he asked.

"It does, hunters! That is the Dark Seal!" Weavel's cold amused voice said as he appeared from the shadows. Trace glanced at him serenely, which made Weavel nervous.

"Um...the Dark Seal is an energy based barrier that relies on the energy of the keeper and the caster. The keeper is one or more individuals that guard the seal, and if the keeper should fall below a certain energy level, the seal breaks." Weavel explained.

"Let me guess, the Dark Master is the keeper?" Spire asked coldly.

"No, he is the caster. If the caster is weakened, the seal also breaks, but the caster is not bound to the seal like the keeper. I am the keeper, so if you want to free the fool, you must defeat me!" Weavel said with a dramatic laugh.

"All right! Get him!" Samus said, firing her Power Beam, annoyed her missiles were used up. The beam did absolutely nothing to Weavel's armor and he ignored it all together. Noxus fired his Judicator and Weavel dodged, still not shooting his own weapons. Sylux fired the Shock Coil, but Weavel vanished and reappeared behind Sylux, slamming his cybernetic fist into Sylux's back, knocking him to the ground.

Samus fired at close range, but Weavel ignored the shots and slammed his fist into her head, knocking her to the ground easily, stunning her as well. Spire fired the magmaul, but the barrier repelled it back at him.

Back at the throne room, the Dark Hunter turned to the master.

"Can the keeper be inside the seal?" he asked. The master nodded.

"Yes, but the keeper can weaken himself or herself to break it easily. It serves no value to seal the keeper. Besides, why would you want to?" the master replied.

"True, if you wanted to imprison someone, you'd seal them and make the keeper someone else." Ice said.

"The seal takes a lot of energy, so it is unwise to try to conjure it. I am the only one of the League capable of doing it, since I have the only model of the Dark Armor able to do it." the master said quietly. The others nodded.

Spire stared at the barrier in alarm. How could anything create such a barrier. The Dark League was stronger than originally thought. He watched as Weavel and Trace remained the only hunters uninjured. Weavel smirked as Trace serenely looked back at him. Trace felt no emotion, not fear or nervousness, nor anger.

He calmly raised his Imperialist and fired. Weavel ducked in time, firing his Battlehammer in response, the black orb exploding, the blast radius still noticeably larger than the normal rounds Weavel fired. Trace leapt back effortlessly, firing again. Weavel's rapid fire shots continued exploding with additional power, but Trace nimbly dodged, firing his Imperialist. Weavel was starting to lose his cool.

How could anyone avoid him so long? He felt the surge of power he knew only came from his anger and he released another shot, focusing his rage into the shot. The shot landed near Trace and exploded with double the power and energy that it had before. Weavel laughed, confident that no one could avoid the blast. When the energy subsided, Weavel gasped in shock. Trace stood in the same place, completely unfazed.

"How...?" Weavel gasped.

"Proof that the League is wrong!" Trace said with a smile.

"How?" Weavel demanded.

"Anger gave you more power, but it wasn't nearly enough, was it? Your strategy is flawed after all. You depend too much on the armor and not on your own abilities!" Trace explained. Weavel snarled in fury and fired a series of shots at Trace, who did nothing in reply, the blasts once more enveloping him and Weavel squinted, trying to see the weakened form of Trace. Trace stood calmly when the energy subsided. Weavel stepped back in mute horror. The other hunters stared in awe.

Back at the throne room, there was a murmur of confusion from the League elites.

"How is he being protected?" Kanden hissed. The master turned to them and they could see his slight smirk.

"You missed it? He fired the Light Beam before the explosion! That created a light barrier, neutralizing the Dark bolts. The interesting thing is that light is the enemy of dark. I've never seen a Dark Armored individual use any form of light..." the Dark Master mused.

Trace smiled as Weavel stared in stunned disbelief. Under the shroud of darkness, no one noticed the Light Beam's firing. It was quick thinking on his part. Weavel snarled and fired again with such fury that Trace could sense the aura. Trace fired the Light Beam, the bolt countering the Dark Battlehammer bolt.

_Overcome his anger with your own power...Do it and defeat him! It's the only way to help Spire is to enter the darkness to do it._ Trace mentally blocked the thoughts, but they came back again and again with each shot of Weavel's he blocked.

_Just relax...you never have to worry again. You'll be happiest then. _Trace recognized the danger signs, but couldn't figure out how to stop it. He could only hope to remove the armor, but he really didn't want to. He raised the Light Beam and fired at his foot. The light hit his armor and he felt a strange shot of pain, and relief at the same time. The light spread through the armor, which was unable to resist due to its recent creation coupled with its slow corruption.

"Too slow!" Trace said with a smile. Weavel looked at Trace in confusion. What was the fool doing? The armor gave more power than anything else! Why would he get rid of it? The light faded and Trace's armor shattered into tiny pieces, vanishing without a trace. Trace smiled triumphantly, despite the sudden sensations felt like cold water.

"Ready, Weavel?" Trace asked. Weavel didn't respond until Trace lunged forward, leaping into the air to avoid the Battlehammer shots, then kicked off one of the walls to land behind Weavel, firing the Light Beam. Weavel yelled in pain and fear as the light energy spread through the armor, Weavel fighting it with all his willpower, but losing.

"Darkness is no match for light!" Noxus whispered. For good measure, Trace fired again, and this time light radiated from the cracking Dark Armor, utimately shattering like Trace's did. Weavel collapsed to the ground weakly. Spire glanced at the Dark Seal, which glowed brightly and vanished. He hastily stepped from the cell and the hunters returned to the elevator, Weavel using a recovery tank to heal himself.

The master watched the development emotionlessly. Ice was getting more anxious, and the Dark Hunter was looking more concerned than normal.

"We're losing, aren't we?" he asked the master nervously. The master glanced up and sighed.

"No...but we aren't winning either. Trace and Weavel both escaped our grasp!" he said in frustration, gesturing to the tablets representing the 6 elites. Weavel's tablet blanked out completely.

"Unlike the Dark Hunter, Weavel completely left the League, rather than die. Death makes the tablet transparent, leaving makes it blank." the master explained. He turned to Ice, who nodded solemnly.

"I know the task, master. I will not fail this time!" Ice promised. The master dismissed him and Ice vanished.

**From this point, most chapters are more action based.**


	21. Dark Rivals part 1

The elevator opened once more and the hunters exitted, slightly apprenhensive. They were approaching the time where they would have to fight the elite members of the League, including the Dark Master, who only Weavel among them had seen. They hadn't yet asked him, concerned it was a touchy subject. They reached a newer room, one they somehow overlooked before.

"Hold on!" Weavel suddenly said, startling them.

"What?" Samus asked, reloading her missiles.

"The throne room is that way." Weavel replied, pointing to a small side door.

"You sure?" Noxus asked, opening a different door.

"Noxus!" Weavel suddenly yelled, knowing the danger that the other were oblivious to. There was a flash of energy, and Noxus was thrown backwards.

"It's a fake door..." Weavel finished unnecessarily.

"Very true...but there's a greater problem here!" sneered the familar voice of Ice as he appeared in the center of the room. The other hunters scowled, raising their weapons.

"This is a battle to determine your fate, Nox. You and I will fight alone, and the loser will die. Simple as that!" Ice explained as Noxus returned to his feet.

"That's sick, Ice! Even for you!" Noxus snapped in reply. Ice laughed.

"You aren't letting an old rivalry affect you this much, are you?" Ice sneered.

The Dark Master smirked coldly and focused. A small black energy circle surrounded Noxus and Ice and expanded, filling the entire circular room. The other hunters were pushed back by the barrier to a space 3 feet from the walls. Ice seemed startled by this development.

"Who's the keeper of this seal?" Servu asked. The master smirked with malice.

"They both are...aren't they?" the Dark Hunter asked him.

"Indeed, but the stakes are raised...the keeper will nearly die to unlock the seal. It appears as though one must kill the other to escape. At least we're promised a good show." the master replied. The Dark Hunter nodded. Servu looked amused and vanished.

"Where's he going?" Drek demanded.

Ice looked shocked as suddenly a black energy circle appeared, surrounding both him and Noxus. It expanded to fill nearly the entire room.

"Uh-oh!" Ice whispered.

"Huh?" Noxus asked fiercely, readying to fight.

"The master used another seal. He's preventing an escape by either of us...all the better because now neither of us can escape death if we lose!" Ice said triumphantly, all trace of worry gone. Noxus scowled again. The Dark Armor Ice wore was making him even more twisted than in the past. Noxus raised his weapon and fired. Ice dodged with exaggerated ease.

"Too easy!" Ice mocked, firing his own Judicator. Noxus dodged in time, rolling forward and firing his Imperialist instead. Ice groaned as the beam struck him in the shoulder.

"Nice shot, but not enough!" Ice sneered, charging the Judicator. Noxus fired his Judicator desperately, knowing that if Ice froze him, the battle may as well be over. Ice ignored the shots, releasing the charge at the ground, but Noxus recognized the strategy and jumped in time to avoid the Shadow Freeze.

Undaunted, Ice fired again, striking Noxus' head. Noxus staggered from the burst of icy energy and Ice snickered, firing again. Noxus leapt to the side, avoiding the bolt, which bounced off the barrier and barely missed Ice.

"Oh, come on Nox...I thought you wanted to prove that you were worthy of the League!" Ice sneered, but Noxus ignored the comment, charging his Judicator. Ice tensed slightly, charging his own Judicator.

"You must pay for your crimes, Ice!" Noxus whispered. Ice chuckled, cocking his head to the side, considering Noxus.

"My crimes? How ironic that your entire motivation is based on the past rejection. You weren't good enough so you become a hypocrite, denouncing what you originally longed for! So, who's the real criminal of the two of us? Is it me, who knows the penalties of my actions...or you, the one who was refused to availability of the same actions and now claims to be a justice avenger? You tell people all you care about is justice, but the truth is you longed for a criminal life!" Ice sneered. Noxus glared at Ice with a hatred he had never felt before. It was comparable to Servu's hatred of Trace.

"I bet I know your real problem, Nox...you fear that you will always be alone and will never amount to anything...well, you're right! Because when you die, you will have fallen to the Dark League, which you weren't good enough to join! The proof of the matter is revealed, because a mere League member destroyed your life!" Ice cackled insanely.

"You're insane!" Noxus replied coolly.

"Am I? Well, we'll see who is stronger now!" Ice retorted. Noxus fired his charge at the ground and Ice countered with his own Shadow Freeze. The icy mists collided and shattered like glass.

Trace watched with mild interest. Both Vhozons were evenly matched, although Ice clearly had the advantage with the Dark Armor.

"This is boring, let's keep going!" Trace said cheerfully. All the hunters, including Noxus and Ice stared at him incredulously.

"What is wrong with you?" Noxus asked angrily.

"Um...your fight is boring?" Trace replied.

"Shut up, Trace!" Ice sneered furiously, lunging at him. To Trace's amusement, he slammed into the barrier. "See? Boring." Trace said. Ice to Noxus again to continue their battle. Trace shrugged and went through the next door and appeared in another room, and he sensed he was nearing the throne room, as Weavel referred to it as.

"Not so fast, Tracey!" sneered an all too familiar voice. Servu appeared in the center of the room, grinning.

"What do you want?" Trace snapped in reply. Servu chuckled.

"Such a temper, Tracey. What's wrong? I thought we were friends!" Servu mocked. Trace blinked in confusion.

"We weren't friends since the day I beat you in the entrance exam like 10 years ago!" Trace responded. Servu chuckled.

"And to think I thought you weren't keeping track of our rivalry...silly of me really. You love outdoing me!" Servu said, snarling in hatred at the last words.

"You are also insane." Trace said with a bored tone.

"Well, this time I'll win!" Servu replied, raising his Imperialist. Trace equipped his Imperialist.

"Show me what you've got!" Trace sneered.

"As you wish!" Servu retorted and forcefields sealed both doors in the room. Servu fired, but Trace ducked, returning fire with his own Imperialist. Servu vanished into the shadows and emerged a few feet away. Outraged, Trace fired again, but Servu repeats the escape tactic.

"Having fun, Tracey?" Servu mocked, dodging a third Imperialist shot. Servu fires, but Trace morphs to Triskelion and lunges, but Servu leaps over the Triskelion, firing his Imperialist down, striking the Triskelion. Servu lands and fired again, but Trace lunges to dodge, returning to biped. He fired his Imperialist at Servu again, but Servu laughed as he dodged, firing his Imperialist, intending to disable the Imperialist.

Trace fired the Battlehammer as he tried to dodge, the miniature explosion causing Servu to stumble, the beam hitting Trace's shoulder. He screamed in pain, but equipped the Shock Coil and fired. Servu ignored the energy all together, instead firing at Trace with the Imperialist. Trace ducked and equipped the Volt Driver, firing rapidly. Servu blocked the weak volts with his armored hand, grinning at Trace's look of frustration.

"You can't beat me, Tracey!" Servu whispered. Trace scowled and morphed to Triskelion again, circling Servu, who watched with amusement.

"Trying that lame trick again, Tracey?" Servu hissed, and Trace lunged, Servu leaping over and firing again. Trace grunted in pain as the beam hit the Triskelion again.

"Trace...you can't be so easily irritated! I can predict your moves easily if all I have to do is insult you! Had I known you were this easy, I'd never have lost to you!" Servu mocked. Trace glowered at Servu as he returned to biped.

Noxus dodged another Judicator shot, watching the reflected bolt just in case. Ice charged his Judicator and Noxus did the same, leaping forward swinging his weapon as a club, catching Ice by surprise and knocking him off balance. He released the icy charge, freezing Ice. He fired Judicator bolts rapidly at Ice's frozen head, then smashed his fist into Ice's face moments before the ice shattered. Ice stumbled, shaking his head, trying to clear it. How could he be losing to Noxus, who was so weak that the Dark League didn't accept him?

Noxus was tiring slightly, but showed no sign of it. Ice grinned wickedly. He had a feeling he knew what Noxus was upset about, and why he was motivated to fight him so hard. It had nothing to do with simple rejection by the League, or jealousy of him. It was vengeance. Noxus must still be sore about the incident at Vho.

"So, Nox...tell me, what is it you want? Why do you fight so desperately against me? Had the League seen such talent in the past, they would have accepted you! Alas, you really are mediocre, since I know you fight for vengeance, as do I!" Ice hissed. Noxus blinked.

"What do you mean?" Noxus demanded.

"You're mad about the incident at Vho, aren't you?" Ice smiled cruelly.

"What incident?" Noxus hissed.

"Oh, well you should remember that well. Since you are rejected so often, I'm sure you're upset that I didn't pick you for the snowball fight about 15 years ago!" Ice said coldly. Noxus gaped at Ice in shock.

"I see I am correct. You hate me since I didn't pick you for my team for a snowball fight. Do you have an idea how pathetic that is?" Ice asked. Noxus was struggling to counter the accusation, but was too startled to reply.

"Interestingly enough, you were willing to join the League after me, so I assume your rejection there made you snap and hate me double. Your whole regime of justice is revenge for not being chosen for a snowball fight, and not being good enough for a criminal gang, as you called it. From where I stand, I dont see you being so pure yourself. In fact, you're more evil than the people you hunt in the name of justice!" Ice said calmly. Noxus stared at Ice in a mixture of fury and embarrassment.

"How far will you take this grudge? Will you next go after the Snowball League? Yeah, the snowball fight tournament team? The captain of your snowball team, who chose you last also? The kid that got you out during that snowball fight? How about the kid that said 'hello' without smiling? What about the little girl that mispronounced your name? How about..." Ice continued.

"SHUT UP!" Noxus raged, his eyes gleamed dangerously for a moment and Ice looked startled by the outburst. "I'm after you because you're a vile, evil twit!" Noxus said furiously.

"Ha! You lost to me in snowball fights, and now in a real battle, so bring it on!" Ice mocked.

TO BE CONTINUED...

**Actually, I found that scene to be incredibly funny.**


	22. Dark Rivals part 2

Noxus glared at Ice in fury and lunged forward, firing his Judicator. Ice dodged nimbly, then fired his own Judicator smugly. With Noxus all riled up, he would be easy to beat now. Ice charged his Judicator and fired the charge, but Noxus spun into Vhoscythe, blade spinning wildly. Ice leapt over the Vhoscythe and spun into his own, blade swinging as well. The altforms collided, blades knocking the other aside, but getting knocked back themselves. Irritated, Noxus returned to biped, charging his Judicator.

"So, you want me to bring it?" Noxus snarled, releasing the charge as Ice returned to biped as well. Ice leapt backwards, barely dodging the freezing mist. Ice focused and fired his Judicator, releasing a black Judicator shot that struck Noxus with more punch than a regular shot. Noxus gasped in pain and Ice swung his own weapon, slamming Noxus across the face with it, knocking him roughly into the barrier. Stunned, Noxus slid to the ground limply.

"Too easy...see why you were picked last?" Ice mocked and Noxus fired his Judicator weakly, but Ice dodged it. He swung his weapon again, and Noxus grunted in pain, struggling to stand. Ice slammed his weapon again, this time into Noxus' chest, causing him to fall back against the barrier.

"This isn't any fun, Nox!" Ice complained cruelly and Noxus snarled in response, receiving another blow to the chest. He fell back against the ground as Ice sighed.

"Farewell, then!" Ice said, charging his Judicator. It was time to finish the battle.

Meanwhile, the other hunters were watching in horror as Noxus appeared beaten. Samus scowled beneath her helmet. The fight wasn't fair, but they couldn't do anything to help.

"Hey...where did Trace go?" Sylux asked suddenly.

"I dunno, why?" Spire asked. Weavel stared at Spire for a second as if debating whether to hit him or not.

"Probably because he's not here!" Weavel half-shouted. Spire shrugged, returning his attention to Noxus' plight.

Servu smirked as Trace watched him. Trace was trying to act strategically, but Servu had dedicated over a year of effort and training to outdo him. He knew several plans to crush Trace. He fired his Imperialist to the left of Trace, hoping Trace would dodge in that direction. He was disappointed, but Trace narrowed his eye suspiciously, seeing how it was off target.

Servu mentally cursed himself. Trace was such a good sniper, that he could tell where an Imperialist was aimed. He hadn't even flinched when Servu fired. Trace fired back with great speed, and Servu grunted as it hit.

"You're too weak, Tracey! Drek says he hates you because of it!" Servu whispered. Trace eye widened in fury.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?!" Trace shrieked in fury. Servu smirked evilly. Trace _was_ too easy to irritate.

"You heard me, Tracey!" Servu hissed. Trace fired his Imperialist again with intense fury, startling Servu, who narrowly dodged.

In the throne room, the Dark Hunter saw the visual of Trace against Servu.

"What's going on?" he asked the master, who glanced at it before narrowing his eyes.

"Interesting...it's a delayed effect of the Dark Armor. He destroyed the armor, but the side effect of it has taken hold. Previously, the armor calmed him. Such sudden removal of serenity is dangerous to the mind. Now the effects of other emotions are more than twice as powerful. This is dangerous for Servu, as the rage of Trace after feeling peace so long is strong enough to counter Servu's armor and do additional damage. Similar to the Dark Imperialist..." the master explained. The master looked unconcerned.

"So Servu's doomed?" the Dark Hunter asked. The master shrugged.

"Not sure. He will probably retreat, so lucky him I didn't cast the last Dark Seal on his battle." the master mused.

Trace resumed his furious attack on Servu, who grew slightly anxious. He didnt understand it, Trace was clearly much more powerful than Servu had ever seen him. Trace fired again, and Servu grunted as the beam hit him again. It shouldn't hurt that much with his armor on! Trace glared at Servu and fired the Imperialist again, missing by an inch. Servu started to feel panicked.

How was he, the greatest kriken in the universe, additionally enhanced by Dark Armor, being beaten by an unarmored kriken? He fired his Imperialist desperately, knowing it was no good. Trace ducked just in time, returning fire with his own Imperialist. Servu dodged barely, still surprised by Trace's fury and added power.

"Two can play at this game..." Servu thought to himself. He focused briefly on his outrage at Trace's consistent outdoing him. He felt his anger pulse as energy into his weapon and he fired, the shot striking Trace in the chest.

"Excellent!" Servu hissed with glee. No one could survive that hit! However, Trace shook off the shot and smirked chillingly. Servu's look of shock gave way to a look of terror as Trace fired a beam of pure white energy into Servu's chest. It was agony like nothing Servu had every experienced. The light pulsed wickedly, and Trace had clearly used his own fury to power it.

"IT WORKED!" The master nearly screamed in glee.

"Huh?" Drek asked quizzically.

"The fool used dark energies to power the Light Beam!" the master sneered.

"So what happens?" the Dark Hunter asked.

"Remember, light is strong against dark...but the user is now dark! This means the beam harms him!" the master explained. Drek smirked, and Kanden chuckled.

Trace felt his rage transfer to his Light Beam. He had used the Light Beam instinctively, and immediately knew he had done something wrong. Energy bolts flew from the Light Beam and struck him as well, tearing through him with immense power. His eye bulged as pain flowed through his body. He saw Servu's identical look of agony and he released the trigger, ceasing the beam. He saw darkness closing in on him and collapsed limply to the ground.

Servu felt his world spinning. He fought the incoming blackness, struggling against the pain he felt. Then it was gone. He fell to his knees, exhausted. He focused briefly and vanished into the shadows. There would be time to revenge his latest humiliation.

Noxus stared up at Ice dimly as the cruel Vhozon grinned wickedly.

"Good bye...you always were too weak!" Ice gloated. With a sudden burst of anger, Noxus lifted his feet up and slammed them with incredible force into Ice's chest, catching the Vhozon off guard, launching him into the barrier. Noxus hastened to his feet and slammed his weapon against Ice's head. Ice snarled in fury, raising his weapon to do the final blow. Noxus beat him to it, firing his Imperialist.

Ice grunted in pain, stumbling against the barrier. Noxus fired again, and Ice doubled over in pain.

"This isn't over, Nox! I will kill you now!" Ice raged, focusing. Noxus released a Judicator charge, immobilizing Ice. Noxus felt a slight pang of regret as he raised the Imperialist and fired. Ice dropped weakly to the ground, staring up at Noxus.

"Congrats...you win!" Ice whispered. The Dark Seal glowed and vanished. The forcefield by the door Trace exitted from disappeared.

"Ice...get rid of the armor!" Noxus urged. Ice smiled sadly.

"I can't, Nox...it's too much of my existence I can't get rid of it. I'll die if I do anyway. Only the Dark Hunter and Dark Master have had armor longer..." Ice explained. Noxus looked uncertain and Ice shrugged.

"The armor is a curse, Noxus..." Ice whispered. Noxus nodded.

"It changes you, makes you want to cause pain. I've been freed from the curse. Thanks..." Ice smiled again, and went limp. Noxus nodded respectfully and turned toward the other hunters.

"I guess that means only a few more left?" Noxus said dully.

**A bit of intense action in this chapter and Ice dies (I kind of liked him a bit). Unlike previous characters, he's not coming back. Let me know how I'm doing!**


	23. Reunion

The hunters entered the door Trace had probably gone into during the Ice vs Noxus battle.

"Whoa! What happened to him?" Weavel asked, pointing at the unconscious Trace.

"Hm...I have no idea!" Spire mused.

"Maybe he fought someone." Sylux suggested. Samus examined Trace briefly.

"He's okay, but he was badly injured." she reported. Noxus nodded absently, and Trace groaned, his eye opening. He was visibly startled to see them standing over him, and he struggled to get up, brushing away Samus' helping hand.

"What happened to you?" Sylux asked.

"Servu. I beat him though!" Trace said irritably.

"How?" Spire asked. Trace scowled at him.

"I used the Light Beam, idiot!" Trace shouted, raising his Imperialist. Immediately, the other hunters raised their own weapons at Trace.

"Calm down, Trace!" Samus warned. Trace ignored her, firing the Imperialist. Noxus shoved Spire out of the way and fired the Judicator, knocking Trace back to the ground. Sylux kicked the Imperialist away and Trace writhed in fury for a minute or two.

"What is wrong with him?" Weavel asked in puzzlement.

"Is it that hard to guess?" Kanden asked from behind them.

"Yeah, kind of...wait, Kanden?!" Spire began, spinning around to see the armored mutant hunter grinning at them wickedly.

"He's not alone, either!" the Dark Hunter sneered, appearing as well.

"What do you want?" Noxus demanded furiously.

"Well, you want to know what's wrong with Trace, and the answer is his mentality and his emotions are struggling. The Dark Armor he wore didn't corrupt him, but rather calmed him extremely. He noticed it trying to corrupt him, so he destroyed it. The sudden mood change from calm to anger is so extreme he lost control over it. It'll wear off soon, but the intense change makes him impulsive and anger driven .I assume it doesn't help to power the Light Beam with darkness..." the Dark Hunter explained, to the awe of the others.

"Enough talking! Time to die!" Kanden sneered. The Dark Hunter smiled and vanished, leaving the hunters to battle their old ally.

In the throne room, Servu stumbled weakly to the master, who looked at him indifferently.

"Learn anything, Servu?" Drek asked sarcastically.

"Shut up..." Servu muttered, noting his blurred vision. The Dark Master reappeared in the room.

"Kanden has initiated the battle." he said.

"Excellent. If all else fails, you must guard the throne room. I'm sure it won't be too difficult?" the master whispered. The Dark Hunter nodded solemnly. The League had underestimated the threat, but he wouldn't make the mistake again.

Kanden smirked as he watched the other hunters staring at him.

"No one going first? Then I will!" Kanden laughed, firing his Volt Driver, which had an increased speed thanks to the Dark Armor. Sylux grunted as the bolts struck him multiple times, and he flipped into Lockjaw, speeding towards Kanden as fast as he could. Samus dodged in time, firing her missiles at Kanden, who destroyed them with accurate shots of his Volt Driver. Noxus charged his Judicator, a plan forming on how to crush Kanden. Trace was struggling to get away from the battle and retrieve his weapon.

He still had the Light Beam, but after the last battle, he was disinclined to use it. Spire charged his Magmaul and Weavel began firing his Battlehammer, impressed by Kanden's accuracy, but unhappy about it. Kanden smirked sinisterly, sidestepping the Battlehammer bolts easily, jumping to avoid the magmaul blast, and blocking missiles with his Volt Driver. Noxus released the Judicator charge and Kanden, to his shock, lunged forward, behind the icy mist barrier, slamming his fist into Noxus' face, knocking him to the ground.

Noxus cursed himself for his overconfidence, clutching his injured face with one hand, charging his Judicator. Kanden chuckled, failing to notice Sylux's tripwire. Sylux rushed in front of Kanden and completed the triangle bomb, which closed in on Kanden, who yelled in shock as the energy coursed through him.

"Had enough?" Sylux hissed, returning to biped. Kanden hissed in fury and fired a charged Volt Driver bolt, which was more black than yellow and flew at a fantastic speed, striking Sylux, blurring his vision and knocking him about 20 feet away. Spire released his Magmaul charge, but Kanden ducked just in time, the magma burst exploding behind him. Noxus fired his Judicator into the ground, the Shadow Freeze immobilizing Kanden (and Trace also). Sylux hastily went into Lockjaw and created a second triangle bomb. The force of the bombs were so great the ice shattered, releasing a very enraged Kanden.

He fired the Volt Driver indiscriminately, the energy bolts no longer yellow, but black. Sylux was struck by several shots, each packing a far greater punch than normal Volt Driver bursts. Samus fired her missiles rapidly, but Kanden's Dark Volt Driver easily overpowered the far weaker weapons. Kanden grinned demonically and charged his Volt Driver, aiming at Trace, who was too weakened to defend.

"Farewell!" Kanden sneered, releasing the charge. It flew at Trace with intense speed and exploded with a bright flash, small bolts erupting from the location the orb struck.

"What?" Kanden hissed, seeing Trace unharmed.

"I fired my Omega Cannon..." Trace explained. Kanden looked dumbfounded a moment too long as Sylux placed a third triangle bomb, and Trace fired the Omega Cannon. There was a loud cracking sound and Kanden collapsed, his Dark Armor cracked completely open, melting into its gooey form. Trace raised the Light Beam nervously and fired, obliterating the last of the armor. Kanden was unconscious, but a few moments later awoke.

"Kanden?" Samus asked gently, unsure if he was aware of the situations.

"The armor's gone!" Weavel said jerkily.

"Indeed...but the damage has been done! You think you're in shape to challenge the strongest members of the League?" Trace asked furiously.

"You're the worst off." Kanden pointed out, ignoring the glare he received.

"Well, I'm the one with the Light Beam and the Omega Cannon!" Trace retorted.

"It's settled then. Trace will share, and we'll take them down." Spire said cheerfully. Everyone stared at Spire incredulously.

"Oh, come on! Why is that always the reaction I get?" Spire whined. They all repeated the look.

"Spire...I know you were robbed of your childhood and all, but why are you acting like you're 4?!" Sylux asked. Spire scowled and looked away, embarrassed. There was an awkward silence.

"Um...let's keep going!" Samus suggested.

"Hm...they've proceeded further than anticipated. I guess that means that you will stop them this time?" the master sneered. The Dark Hunter readied his Goo Gun.

"It's Do or Die." the Dark Hunter replied.

"Yes...just like Ice's mission. Meanwhile, Drek and Servu, you will prepare to battle the hunters should they get inside the room." the master instructed. The silhouette of Kanden had vanished earlier, leaving only the original 4 silhouettes. The Dark Hunter nodded and vanished.

The hunters hurried through the door and appeared in a corridor that was even darker than the previous chambers. They silently walked forward, each failing to hide their anxiety. After what seemed like hours, they entered the door at the end of the corridor. The next room was more lit up than the rest of the HQ, and the Dark Hunter was waiting for them, a smirk upon his face as they looked around.

"We meet again, but this isn't the time for pleasantries, this is time for the League to defeat you. Let's see if you can beat me this time!" the Dark Hunter announced, as forcefields sealed the doors.

"If you win...the door to the throne room unlocks. Losing results in your demise!" the Dark Hunter continued. The hunters shifted uncertainly, remembering the power of the Dark Hunter from their last encounter.

"Backing out? Too bad. You have no choice but to fight, and only victory will enable your escape from this room." the Dark Hunter sneered.

"All right...let's begin!" Trace said impatiently. The Dark Hunter grinned. The time had come to avenge his first failure, and destroy the threat to the League!


	24. Dark Rematch

The Dark Hunter smirked as the other hunters readied their weapons.

"Give me your best shot!" the Dark Hunter goaded. Trace felt an ominous sensation and narrowed his eye. His best shot was the Light Beam. Odds are, the Dark Hunter knew about the last use of it, where it backfired and greatly injured himself. Was this a trick to do it? He equipped the Imperialist, eye on the Dark Hunter, who had withdrawn a Goo Gun.

"Everyone ready?" the Dark Hunter mocked. No reply.

"That means yes!" the Dark Hunter sneered, vanishing and reappearing behind Sylux, slamming his armored fist into Sylux's back, causing the latter to fall to the ground. Weavel jerked his Battlehammer, releasing green energy orbs, but the Dark Hunter blocked them using force barriers.

Trace fired his Imperialist, hoping to catch the Dark Hunter off guard. The Dark Hunter smirked and vanished, reappearing behind Weavel, lashing his leg to strike Weavel's leg, tripping him backwards. Weavel split into half turret and the Dark Hunter focused briefly.

"The Fool!" the Dark Master raged, seeing the Dark Seal appear around the half-turret.

"Actually, that's clever." Servu said.

"No, it costs too much energy! He'll be weaker overtime! Especially since he hasn't fully recovered from being revived." the master explained furiously.

"The benefits outweigh the costs!" Drek said with a wicked grin. The master smirked.

"Actually...I agree. That effectively cripples 1/7 of his competition, if you can call them that." the master mused.

The black energy circle surrounded Weavel's turret and everyone stared in confusion.

"That costs a lot of energy." Kanden pointed out.

"Indeed. I am the keeper, but just wait until you see the value of the seal!" the Dark Hunter cackled.

"I don't get it." Spire admitted. Trace's eye widened and he laughed as he realized what happened. Noxus also had realized the benefits, but wasn't amused.

"The seal prevents anything, whether it be person, projectile, or anything else from leaving or entering...even Dark Teleporting can't pass. So the half-turret is sealed in the seal. This prevents Weavel from returning to biped." Noxus whispered. Samus gasped.

"There's more!" the Dark Hunter sneered.

"What more?" Kanden asked. "Simple. The half-turret fires upon opposition automatically. The barrier repels the shots back. Since Weavel's energy is tied directly to the halfturret, he's weakening himself!" the Dark Hunter explained, demonstrating by standing next to the seal, the turret began firing the Battlehammer shots. The shots hit the barrier and bounced back upon the turret. Weavel's upper half staggered, as if hurt. The Dark Hunter cackled evilly.

"Weavel will slowly destroy himself, and a well-deserved punishment it is!" the Dark Hunter gloated cruelly. Sylux scowled, firing his Shock Coil at the Dark Hunter, who immediately countered with his Goo Gun, the beams struggling to overcome the other.

"Deja vu, anyone?" the Dark Hunter sneered, sidestepping Weavel's half-turret slash, bringing his foot around to knock the machine aside, keeping his face towards Sylux, an amused smirk on his face. The black goo began enveloping the Shock Coil neutrinos, and Sylux scowled again, focusing on increasing his weapon's power.

Noxus charged his Judicator, hurrying towards the Dark Hunter, who grinned again, breaking the weapon connection and firing the Goo Gun to counter the icy mist, no doubt also absorbing its qualities. The remaining Shock Coil homed in on the Dark Hunter, who grinned, firing his Goo Gun with astounding speed, the goo latching onto Noxus' Judicator. The Dark Hunter pulled his gun, causing Noxus to be tugged into the way of the neutrinos. Sylux backed away, surprised.

"None of you have the power to defeat me!" the Dark Hunter gloated, pressing a button on his gun and firing at Samus, who had opened fire with missiles. Instead of the black goo, neutrinos burst out, destroying the missiles in midair.

"That's the Shock Coil!" Sylux said in surprise.

"Yes, you thought this was simply for weapon battles? No, it perfectly duplicates the weapon, allowing me to use it as my own!" the Dark Hunter sneered. Samus frowned, thinking of how to beat the Dark Hunter again. Kanden fired his Volt Driver as rapidly as he could, but the Dark Hunter blocked them with force barriers. They weren't even a challenge anymore. How could these fools even attempt to defeat the Dark League?

Sylux flipped into Lockjaw, and the Dark Hunter hit another button, firing. Instead if neutrinos or goo, an icy mist fired, freezing the Lockjaw. Noxus groaned. The Dark Hunter held the frozen Lockjaw and threw it at Kanden, the frozen alt struck Kanden like a cannonball, and Kanden was knocked off his feet, both slamming with tremendous force into the wall. Trace fired his Imperialist, but the Dark Hunter fired goo, the beams struggling to overcome the other.

"So weak, Trace...it's not too surprising that you can't beat me. The Pawn said you couldn't beat me the first time, and I repeat: If Samus isn't holding your hand, you're nothing but the lesser of 2 krikens!" the Dark Hunter mocked, and Trace hesitated.

"Ignore his taunts!" Samus urged.

"See, she's already holding your hand!" the Dark Hunter gloated. Trace scowled angrily, breaking the connection of his weapon and the Goo Gun.

"The Omega Cannon is useless without the Hyper Beam, and you fools destroyed that." The Dark Hunter whispered and Trace remembered that the Dark Hunter could tell what you were thinking. He threw the Omega Cannon data to Samus, who caught it, startled.

"All together, we'll win!" Trace explained. Sylux, finally defrosted, returned to biped, prepared. Kanden charged his Volt Driver. Weavel tried more half-turret slices, but was dodged. The Dark Hunter smirked and stood near the sealed half-turret, the upper half stumbled again as it struggled against the weakening blasts of his own weapon. Noxus readied his Judicator, and Spire prepared his Magmaul.

"Were you planning on fighting earlier?" Trace demanded of the Diamont, who shrugged.

"Give me your best shot, weaklings!" the Dark Hunter sneered. Trace stared at the Dark Hunter suspiciously. That was the second time the Dark Hunter had said that, both times he looked at Trace while saying it. It was definitely a trick to tempt him to use the Light Beam.

_I know you want to use the Light Beam, Trace. If you do, my Goo Gun will mimic it. If you don't, I'll win. At the same time, I'm bluffing. He'll refuse to use the Light Beam since he knows I want him to. _The Dark Hunter thought, grinning. Spire fired his Magmaul, and the Dark Hunter countered with his Goo Gun, grinning as he absorbed its power. Noxus attempted a Shadow Freeze, but the Dark Hunetr vanished, reappearing behind Noxus, within the mist field, so he was safe.

Noxus wasn't so lucky, as the Dark Hunter released an icy mist, encasing him. Weavel's half-turret was easily knocking aside, and Kanden's charged Volt Driver flew past the Dark Hunter, missing the frozen Noxus, to the disappointment of the Dark Hunter. Samus' missiles were shot down by the Dark Hunter's Shock Coil, and Trace's Imperialist had to be dodged.

Kanden's rapid volt driver was unceasing, the hail of electricity bolts fired upon the Dark Hunter, who conjured more force barriers to block them. The hunters separated, surrounding the Dark Hunter, except for Weavel, who kept slicing at him.

"He's doing quite well...but he'll lose. You can tell he's weaker with the turret sealed. Releasing the seal will free Weavel's half-turret, both making the turret a threat, rather than an advantage and also freeing Weavel's biped and Battlehammer. If he'd stop using those force barriers he'd still be good. The fool forgot that the barriers cost energy. something he'll run out of fast!" the Dark Master complained. Servu shrugged indifferently, which was fortunately not seen by the master.

Drek watched the battle in amusement. At the rate the Dark Hunter was going, the krikens would have to take down the hunters. That was fine, it would be much more fun than watching other members fail.

_Come on, bro._ Drek shook the weak thought away. Relations meant nothing, just a worthless fact. Krikens had to fight their family during the first Kriken war, but they still did it. Some even went so far as to target their family members. Those krikens were honored, since their targets had been morale boosters for the enemy. Trace was like that with the hunters. He was the one who carried the hunters to victory. Drek smiled. He was looking forward to the Dark Hunter's demise.

The Dark Hunter suddenly stumbled. What was that? He hesitated for a second, puzzled. He was getting lower on energy? How? He vanished into the shadows, reappearing in a dark corner. The Seal had been more draining than expected, unless something else was tiring him. None of the hunters could hit him, but why was he becoming weaker?

Panic filled his mind for a moment, the Dark Armor struggling to calm him again. He ducked as an Imperialist shot fired towards him. How did the kriken know he was there? Dark Armor wasn't a heat source, so the Imperialist couldn't zoom in to locate heat sources, a trick he had used to steal the 7th gem key...he vanished again, reappearing behind Trace, raising the Goo Gun, set to Imperialist. Time to finish the kriken off.

He fired, but Trace morphed to Triskelion before the beam left the gun, the buglike alt lunging into his side. Caught off guard, the Dark Hunter stumbled back, hastily returning to his feet, and groaned in agony. He fell to his knees, confused. What had hit him? He looked at where the shot had come and bellowed in rage. His Imperialist shot had fired and hit the seal barrier...reflecting back upon the shooter with greater force. Plus, his armor had increased the Imperialist's power further. The Dark Hunter returned to his feet. He wasn't as good as he used to be...death had stolen his abilties.

"No it didn't. You underestimated them, you fool!" he scolded himself furiously. Trace grinned, pointing behind the Dark Hunter. For the first time, the Dark Hunter was uncertain. If Trace was bluffing, the Light Beam would finish him easily. If Trace was honest, and he ignored the kriken, he'd lose to a surprise attack. In an instant, he knew what to do. He lunged at Trace, bringing his fist around for a powerful blow.

There was a flash of light and pain shot through the Dark Hunter, sending him tumbling to the ground. His armor was weaker now that his energy was so low. He twisted to see his assailant. Samus stared at him, holding the Omega Cannon. Kanden fired his Volt Driver, the bolts distracting him, while doing no damage. Sylux's Shock Coil homed in on him and did the same. Spire fired his Magmaul at the Dark Hunter, who was returning to his feet, using force barriers to repel as many of the attacks as he could. Realization hit him like an Imperialist. Force barriers was what had weakened him.

It cost small amount of energy, but it added up, in addition to the seal and his revived state. Trace fired the Light Beam, and the Dark Hunter immediately fired the Goo Gun. To his horror, the Light Beam easily destroyed the goo, obliterating the gun as well. The beam of light energy struck him and he yelled in horror and pain, knowing the end had arrived. His armor melted, disinegrating as the light destroyed the evil armor.

Trace released the trigger, knowing the Dark Hunter was beaten. The last of the Dark Armor vanished, and the Dark Hunter glared at them. He was pale and gaunt, his red eyes staring at them blankly.

"It appears as though you win again. I underestimated you...but the League isn't finished yet. The master is stronger than I, and not as likely to make mistakes..." the Dark Hunter smiled evilly and went still. The Dark Seal shattered and Weavel happily returned to biped.

"Finally!" Weavel said angrily. The forcefields vanished.

"Let's go!" Trace said earnestly. They turned to the door leading to the throne room. The last of the League was behind the door, and the end of their journey had arrived.

**Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Nearing the end of the fic...**


	25. Dark Kriken Battle part 1

The Dark Master scowled, seeing the humanoid silhouette become transparent.

"Prepare yourselves! They're coming." the master hissed to Servu and Drek, who nodded confidently.

"So, who will you take out?" Servu asked Drek.

"I could take out them all." Drek said dismissively.

"Then you don't mind if I take out Trace?" Servu hissed. Drek smiled.

"Go ahead, and then I'll beat him after you lose!" Drek replied and Servu growled.

The hunters continued staring at the door anxiously before Spire sighed.

"The door's not going to open on its own!" Spire said. The door slid open by itself. There was a stunned silence.

"You were saying?" Trace said dryly, walking through the door. The other hunters followed, and as Spire approached, the doors slid shut quickly, and he walked into them painfully. Sylux chuckled, walking past Spire through the doors, which quickly slid open to allow him entry. Spire hurried forward, but the doors slid shut again. The other hunters shrugged and the door opened to allow them, but as soon as Spire tried, they shut again.

"Stop that." the master told Servu, who reluctantly stopped using the door remote. Drek was chuckling.

"Idiots..." the master sighed, settling on the throne as the inner doors opened, Trace leading the hunters into the room.

"Servu, let Spire in!" Drek hissed. Servu hastily unlocked the outer doors and Spire burst into the room a few seconds later. A forcefield sealed the door. The hunters had arrived at last.

Trace looked around the new room, which was mostly a large chamber lit by torches, with a throne in the back of the room. Above the throne was a series of tablets, upon which there were silhouettes. 2 were kriken shaped, no doubt symbolizing Drek and Servu. A third was in shadows, and Trace couldn't tell what it was. The final one was transparent and humanoid, possibly symbolizing the dead Dark Hunter.

Upon the throne sat a skeletal humanoid figure, clad in shiny black armor, gazing at the arrivals with the air of indifference. Aside from the throne and 2 pillars, the room was open space. Weavel and Kanden eyed the room with apprehension. It took a moment, but eventually all eyes were on the skeletal figure.

"Who are you?" Samus demanded. The figure chuckled malevolently.

"I am the Dark Master, the leader of the Dark League. I'm sure you've heard of me, Miss Aran. I know all of your motives...and so much more." the Dark Master grinned, gesturing to Samus.

"Your so called personal mission was simply to locate the existence of the League. Spire was called here to witness the continued existence of the League. Noxus was called to remind him of his failures. Sylux is here to remember the Dark Armor, and to destroy the memories the symbolize: Hatred and failure. You'll never be rid of them, Sylux. They're eternally with you. Weavel was fascinated by the darkness and power the Armor possessed, and he willingly seized some armor. Kanden was the same, still wishing to prove his power. Trace, your motive amused us the most. You came to help your brother, Drek, who you believed is unwillingly in our group. You're wrong, as Drek never needed help!" the master smiled coldly, and Trace scowled furiously.

"Furthermore, you wished to destroy the League itself. I congratulate you on getting this far, but this is as far as you'll go. There are 3 members of the League left. Drek, Servu, and myself. Your goal is in reach...but can you do it?" the master continued.

"Easily!" Trace snarled. The master chuckled, chills running down the hunters' spines.

"Show us what you've got then!" the master sneered. A forcefield orb surrounded the master, who shifted into a more relaxed position. Servu and Drek appeared on opposite sides of the room.

"I'll take Trace!" Servu sneered. Trace nodded and walked towards Servu.

"Trace?" Sylux started, uncertainly.

"I'll be fine. I've beaten him several times, and I'll do it again." Trace said.

"Trace. You don't have to be alone!" Noxus whispered, but Trace waved his hand dismissively.

"So that leaves 6 for me?" Drek asked with a grin, his armor creating a helmet around his venom head. Servu's armor did the same around his head, the yellow eye gleaming maliciously.

Servu smirked as Trace calmly waited for him to make the first move. Did the fool think he could beat him, the greatest kriken in the universe? It was time to earn the respect he had deserved from the beginning! He fired his Imperialist slightly to the left of Trace, who stepped back decisively, the beam's inaccuracy causing it to miss.

"Servu, you can't fool me. I'm the 2nd greatest sniper in Kriken history." Trace said confidently. "Second to me!" Servu snarled, firing again. Trace sidestepped it, and Servu growled in frustration.

"No, second to Drek." Trace replied, firing his own Imperialist. Servu dodged, leaping into the air and firing down upon Trace. Trace leapt backwards, firing upon the descending figure, who twisted in midair to avoid the beam. Trace frowned. Servu was being too predicatable, although the moves were tough to counter. No wonder Servu never got respect, he used the same techniques over and over. Next Servu would try to disable his weapon. Trace pivoted, and a beam aimed for his weapon missed by an inch.

Trace chuckled in amusement. Although trying to predict Servu was risky, it was his best chance to beat Servu quickly, hopefully with the Light Beam. Trace morphed to Triskelion, lunging at Servu, who hopped over the Triskelion. Trace immediately backtracked, avoiding Servu's attempt to hit the Triskelion.

So predictable...Trace thought lunging forward, hitting Servu, who grunted in fury. Servu morphed to Triskelion and they circled around, looking for a chance to strike. Abruptly, Trace decided to mess with Servu's mind by rapidly sidestepping to the left, to the right, to the left, to the right. It looked sort of like a tap dance. Drek started laughing, having not yet initiated his battle yet.

"The Triskelion Dance?" Servu hissed, bewildered. Why was Trace doing a useless move? It wasn't like Trace at all! He lunged forward, hoping to catch Trace while he was being weird. Trace sidestepped to the left and lunged as well, both Triskelion passing harmlessly. They circled and lunged again, once more doing nothing more than a slight clip to the other. Drek had ceased laughing and now just looked weirded out.

"Um...why is he doing a typical mating ritual as a battle move?" he asked, a little too loudly. Both battling krikens returned to biped and stared at Drek incredulously. All hunters all had the identical facial expression.

"Seriously, Trace. You need a girlfriend!" Drek said, oblivious to the odd looks he was receiving.

"Drek...do us all a favor and start fighting!" Sylux yelled. Drek nodded absently.

"You can start the fight, fools. I'll beat you anyway." Drek said. Spire grumbled and fired his Magmaul at Drek, who sidestepped, keeping his eye on Servu and Trace. Samus shrugged and fired missiles, but Drek fired his Imperialist, still not looking in their direction, the beam slicing through the missiles easily.

Sylux fired his Shock Coil and Drek fired his Imperialist again, the beam hitting Sylux's foot, making Sylux grab his foot in pain, all thoughts of fighting gone. Noxus did a Shadow Freeze, but Drek jumped moments before the charge was released, watching Trace and Servu circle in Triskelion again. Weavel split into half-turret, and Drek fired again, striking the upper half, which collapsed, too weak to continue fighting. The battle with the Dark Hunter had drained most of his energy.

Kanden fired his Volt Driver, trying to use its rapid fire shots to actually draw Drek's attention, to no avail. Drek ignored them all together, dodging the Volt Driver shots with more speed than any of the hunters thought possible. Drek fired his Imperialist, hitting Samus, knocking her to the ground. Sylux regained his composure and fired his Shock Coil. Drek faced the hunters and leapt into the air, dodging all the shots with incredible flexibility, firing his Imperialist downwards, hitting Noxus, who collapsed to the ground in agony. Another beam disabled Sylux's Shock Coil, and Sylux stared at it numbly.

Drek landed gracefully, flipping backwards to avoid a Magmaul shot, firing his Imperialist to disable Samus' missiles. Spire lunged forward, slamming his fist at Drek, who calmly ducked, firing his Imperialist into Spire's Magmaul. With a smirk, Drek next fired, disabling the Volt Driver as well. All eyes turned to Noxus, the only hunter still with a weapon or in shape to battle. Drek ducked a Judicator bolt, returning fire, striking Noxus in the chest, and the Vhozon dropped like a stone.

"Too easy!" Drek sneered, firing again to disable Noxus' Judicator. Weavel fired his Battlehammer from his position on the ground, but without a steady aim, his weapon was ineffective. Drek sighed and fired, disabling the Battlehammer.

"What's next?" Drek asked in a bored voice. The hunters nodded to each other and lunged recklessly, ignoring their injuries, hoping that their fists or weapons would connect to Drek, but Drek dodged and jumped to avoid every punch, club, or kick. He leapt over their heads, landing a few feet away.

The Dark Master watched the battles with interest, seeing Servu and Trace battling with great intensity, and Drek defeating the others with ease. Even if the hunters beat his krikens, he was still stronger. He chuckled as Drek fired his Imperialist with perfect accuracy, disabling all their weapons. They had to resort to physical force, a technique worthless thanks to the Dark Armor, and Drek's sniping ability.

One thing bothered the master. Why wasn't Drek tapping into the armor's powers of teleporting? The master shook the thought away. Tactics weren't important, although it was amusing to see the hunters struggle against his minions. The battle between Trace and Servu had barely begun, and the battle between Drek and the 6 hunters was almost over.

Servu and Trace lunged at each other with Triskelions again, both scoring a direct hit (partly because they were still haunted by Drek's mating ritual comment to attempt to dodge). Although the attacks with Triskelion were nearly identical to the ritual, it was unnerving that Drek would point that out. Both returned to biped, Imperialists pointing at each other. The time had come for them to fight with all their abilities, and only one could triumph!

TO BE CONTINUED...

**This chapter was pretty easy to make quickly, and the second part will be up quickly as well. I'd appreciate a review up to this point. Questions, etc that arent review related should be sent as a PM, and I will answer immediately after receiving.**


	26. Dark Kriken Battle part 2

Servu fired his Imperialist again, Trace dodging to the side, returnng fire with his own Imperialist. Servu ducked, morphing to Triskelion and lunging again. Trace hopped over the Triskelion, and immediately jumped back to his first positon, as Servu's Triskelion lunged again. Trace fired his Imperialist at the moving Triskelion, but ultimately did no real damage.

Trace waited a second, then fired a missile as Servu lunged. The missile hit Servu, but did absolutely no damage. Trace backed away from Servu, who suddenly felt himself forced from Triskelion to biped. He ducked just in time to avoid Trace's Imperialist.

"Stupid Alt-Disabling Missiles!" Servu muttered darkly, firing his Imperialist at Trace, who leapt to the side, firing back. Servu ducked behind the nearby pillar, thinking quickly. Trace had always been his greatest enemy, and Servu had only beaten Trace once by luck and the Dark Armor's power. Servu chuckled evilly, focusing on his rage once more, feeling energy flow through his body.

He leapt out from behind the pillar, firing at Trace, who looked alarmed for an instant before morphing to Triskelion to avoid. Servu fired at the scampering Triskelion, which lunged to avoid. Servu scowled, using his frustration to further power his weapon's power. Although focus cost some energy to use, the additional firepower was worth it. Another beam missed Trace, who returned to biped and fired back, the beam hitting Servu.

Servu hissed furiously, firing yet again. The beam narrowly missed Trace, who stumbled while dodging. Servu cackled triumphantly as he lunged forward, kicking Trace in the face and knocking him backwards into the other pillar. Trace shook his head, stunned, staring at Servu as he aimed the Imperialist at Trace and fired. Trace fired the Light Beam instinctively, the light energy negating the Imperialist, to Servu's alarm.

Drek dodged Samus's kick, using her momentum to throw her behind him. Spire's crushing punch missed, causing the Diamont to be off balance. Drek used his momentum to throw him to the ground, sidestepping Noxus' club attack, seizing the Vhozon's arm and whipping him towards Spire. Noxus slammed into the fallen Spire, groaning in pain. Weavel struggled to stand, and Drek just kicked the pirate in the head, knocking him aside like a doll.

Kanden slithered towards Drek in Stinglarva and Drek jumped up and landed on top of the slug alt form, preventing movement. Sylux tried to do a triangle bomb, oblivious to the Stinglarva's presence. Drek leapt off last second, and the triangle closed in on Kanden, who shrieked in pain. Drek landed behind Sylux's Lockjaw, seizing the large orb-like alt form and rolling it on the ground, so it rolled into the fallen hunters, knocking them all aside painfully. Drek smirked as the hunters returned to their feet, wncing painfully.

"Come on, at least get a hit on me!" Drek said mockingly. He ducked an Imperialist shot from Servu and Trace's battle, turning to fire back. Ther hunters lunged again, but Drek leapt over them, laughing as they turned and charged again. Drek leapt towards the second pillar, kicking off of it and landing half a room away. He grinned at the startled look the other hunters gave him.

Servu snarled, dodging Trace's Imperialist. Trace grinned confidently and Servu fired at him impulsively. The beam narrowly missed Drek, who turned towards him and fired. Servu leapt to the left and was hit by Trace's beam, which had been fired at roughly the same time as Drek's, causing him to gasp in pain. He was losing to Trace again!

He felt his fury flow through him like heat, and he fired his Imperialist furiously. Trace dodged, running towards him, firing wildly. The odd move reminded Servu of Trace's earlier techniques, which were confusing and odd. They had been distractions (admittedly, Drek's comment probably was the most distracting), and Servu had gotten overconfident, thinking Trace would be an easy victory.

Servu held his ground, firing at Trace with expert precision. He ducked a more accurate shot, and stared in horror as Trace fired the Light Beam. The shock of realization struck him. Trace was trying to get close enough to shoot the Light Beam at point-blank range, and Servu had fallen for the trick by not moving. The light hit him, the charge flooding his body, pain shooting through him. He didn't yell, as he had the first time. He was numbed by the further understanding that Trace wasn't trying to kill him, like he had been.

Trace was using the Light Beam to destroy the Dark Armor. The destruction of the armor...did that mean the end of his life, like it had been with the Dark Hunter and other members?

"Relax, Servu!" Trace hissed quietly.

_Relax? How can anyone relax at the verge of death?_ Servu wondered, feeling the pain subside slightly.

"Trust me, Servu! Relax!" Trace hissed.

_Trust Trace? What trick was this? Trace hated him...they had always been rivals!_ Servu struggled against these thoughts, uncertain of which to obey. Trace fired the Light Beam again, and Servu shuddered, the thoughts fading. The Dark Armor was weakened, and if the thoughts were fading, that meant they originated from the armor!

_The armor doesn't make thoughts...it enhances existing thoughts, but only the negative ones..._Servu relaxed slightly, and the armor seemed to slip, melting from him. He felt darkness closing in, struggled to fight it. He didn't want to die...he had come so close to once before. The armor had saved him then, but would he die without the armor? He felt himself falling, but never hitting the ground.

Trace saw Servu struggling against the Light Beam, and urged him to relax. If the armor fought the light too hard, the removal of the armor could be fatal, as the armor would try to take more energy from the host's vital systems. Servu seemed confused, and distant. Trace narrowed his eye, firing again. The armor released its hold on Servu, melting away as Servu relaxed slightly.

The armor disinegrated, and Servu fell weakly forward. Trace instinctively caught Servu, slightly sickened to do so. Servu, even without the armor, was an enemy. He glanced awkwardly around the room, heartened by the tablet behind the throne. One of the kriken silhouettes vanished entirely. Trace supposed that meant that the member was no longer in the League. The Dark Master glanced at the tablet and scowled furiously.

Servu stirred and Trace immediately released him. Servu landed on the ground, staring at himself a moment. Then he looked around the room, his gaze blank. Trace stepped back from Servu, who suddenly got to his feet and fled the room, going through a concealed door near the back of the room. The Dark Master looked alarmed, and gestured, a forcefield blocking off that door.

"Well done, Trace!" the master sneered bitterly. Trace shrugged.

Drek turned to see Servu had gone and grinned.

"That'll do!" he mocked to the other hunters.

"Not yet!" Spire snapped, swinging his fist furiously. Drek ducked and fired his Imperialist, hitting Spire in the chest.

"I'd advise against attacking again, Diamont. Considering my abilties and our history!" Drek sneered. Spire's eyes glared at Drek and he lunged again anyway. Sylux went to Lockjaw and formed a tripwire in fron of Spire, who tripped over the electrical beam, yelling in pain.

"What the hell was that for?!" Spire shouted at Sylux.

"Are you that desperate to die?" Sylux hissed.

"No, I just need to kill him!" Spire replied.

"Idiot! Without a weapon and with him with Dark Armor, you don't have a chance!" Noxus hissed. Spire doubled over in pain and sighed.

"Whatever..." he muttered.

Drek walked towards Trace, grinning cruelly.

"Are you ready to die?" Drek sneered.

"No, I'm ready to break that armor to help you!" Trace replied angrily.

"How sentimental...no wonder you're so weak!" the Dark Master sneered.

"Seriously, Tracey...fighting me will only end your life, but that's one way to complete your mission!" Drek sneered and Trace glowered at Drek hatefully. "Bring it on!" Trace snapped. Drek laughed.

"Very well...if you refuse to back down, I guess I'll have to make short work of you." Drek hissed.

"Trace..." Samus began.

"What?!" Trace snarled in reply.

"Be careful. Now go help your bro!" Noxus said. Trace nodded and faced Drek. It was time to complete his mission. If he lost, his efforts were wasted.

**Not as long as the last one, but the next one will be longer**


	27. Sibling Rivalry

Trace glared at Drek, who smiled indifferently.

"Go ahead, Trace. Try to outdo me..." Drek whispered. Trace scowled, his earlier fears of having to fight his brother suddenly returned to him. What if Drek couldn't be saved? What if his efforts were for nothing? He hesitated, losing his usual confidence. Drek had taught Trace everything he knew, and that probably wasn't half of what Drek knew. Did he even have a chance?

"Trace, don't lose confidence yet!" Samus called.

"That's true. He can lose confidence a few minutes into the fight." Spire said, cringing at the glares he received from the other hunters.

"Seriously Spire, I now know why Trace wants to kill you!" Weavel said.

"To get the honor for killing the Last Diamont?" Spire asked.

"That too." Kanden said.

"No really, what other reason is there? Hello?" Spire said. The other hunters ignored him, turning back to Trace and Drek.

"Come on, Trace!" Drek mocked, gesturing to the other hunters.

"Your friends want to see you die!"

"Not happening, bro!" Trace said without enthusiasm.

"Then prove it!" Drek sneered. Trace fired his Imperialist, but Drek sidestepped easily. Trace fired again, but Drek ducked, returning fire with his Imperialist, hitting Trace in the chest. Trace groaned, falling to one knee, ironically saving him from Drek's second shot.

"Is that really all you got, Trace?" Drek sneered, walking in a circle around Trace, reminding Samus of a vulture. Trace growled and returned to his feet.

"Get rid of the armor, Drek!" Trace begged.

"I don't think so. You're to weak to understand its power!" Drek replied, firing his Imperialist again. Trace morphed to Triskelion, lunging at Drek, who calmly kicked the Triskelion aside in mid-lunge. Trace returned to biped, firing his Imperialist, but Drek avoided it, snickering.

"Listen to reason, bro! The armor is messing you up!" Trace begged.

"Shut up, weakling!" Drek snarled, firing again. Trace ducked, firing back at Drek. The beam narrowly missed, and Drek responded with yet another Imperialist shot. Trace dodged this one as well, but was tiring slightly. He had been involved in too many fights in a short time, and they were draining.

First there was Servu, than the Dark Hunter, most of that one he spent recovering, then Servu again, and now Drek. After this, he would probably fight the Dark Master. Trace was not looking forward to that battle if he was tiring so early in this one.

Drek noticed Trace's tiring and grinned. Not only was he weak, but with low stamina!

_He got this far without resting. Besides, he has incredible stamina!_

"Shut up!" Drek snarled at the voice in his head, abruptly aware he said that out loud. Trace looked at Drek inquisitively, then fired his Imperialist. Taken off guard for an instant, Drek barely avoided the shot, returning fire with his Imperialist.

Luckily for Trace, he spasmed with pain from Drek's first direct hit and doubled over, the beam missing by an inch. Drek scowled in fury, energy coursing through him. He fired, and the Imperialist beam was black, hitting Trace with incredible power and throwing him limply across the room.

Drek chuckled as Trace hit the ground, bouncing another few feet. Samus gasped in horror, seeing Trace struggling to stand. Trace looked shocked at the force of the attack, and Drek hesitated for a moment before firing a regular Imperialist shot. Trace fired back and Drek, caught off guard by the attack, stumbled as the beam hit him.

"Bring your best, Trace!" Drek goaded, and Trace scowled before leaping into action. He remembered Drek's past words of wisdom during training. _"Always overestimate your opponent. Then you can't even consider not trying hard enough."_ which Drek normally told Trace whenever Trace complained that he was caught off guard.

This teaching was similar to "Never underestimate your opponent", but Drek insisted the proper teaching is to overestimate, for nothing will surprise you. Maybe Trace could help Drek by reciting some of Drek's teachings, especially at times Drek messed up, in part because of the Dark Armor. This plan in mind, Trace also decided to give it everything he had. Only then could he hope to stand up to Drek's power.

Drek scowled, brushing away to pain from the Imperialist. Seemed Trace didn't know when to quit. _Thats how I trained him._ Drek seethed with fury and fired again, but Trace dodged with unusual ease. Drek fired again, seeing it as a perfect shot, but Trace dove forward, the beam soaring over his head. Trace rolled, firing his Imperialist again, hitting Drek in the head. Drek yelled in pain, surprised by Trace's accuracy.

"Don't underestimate me, always overestimate your opponent!" Trace said cockily. Noxus shifted uncomfortably, unnerved by Trace's overconfidence. Drek blinked in stunned shock. That phrase...so familar...Drek shook the confusion aside, circling Trace, who mimicked his every move perfectly, eyeing Drek carefully for any attack cues. Drek smirked and morhped to Triskelion lunging forward. Trace blinked, leaping over the Triskelion, knowing the devastating effect Drek's Triskelion would have.

"Come on Trace, show me your abilities!" Drek mocked, returning to biped, pleased by Trace's nervousness.

"Seriously, Drek! Get rid of the armor and think for yourself! Why are you even fighting me?" Trace insisted. Drek seemed thrown by the question, and Trace immediately lunged forward, firing the Light Beam, but Drek dodged in time, lashing out his foot to strike Trace in the chest, knocking him to the ground.

The Dark Master watched the battle with interest, and the slightest trace of worry. Trace had ceased holding back, but Drek seemed to be struggling. Drek had always resisted the Dark Armor, but finally stopped. It appeared the struggling had returned, and was distracting Drek. The master scowled darkly. The armor was losing its hold on Drek...but would Trace be beaten before the armor faded?

Trace hurried to his feet, ready to fight to the end.

"Give up, Trace!" Drek sneered.

"Drek...that makes no sense! In battles to the death, surrendering is impossible, and ridiculous to suggest. So that means you don't want to kill me!" Trace said forcefully. Drek seemed puzzled a minute, giving Trace the opportunity to fire the Light Beam again. Drek countered with his Imperialist, to no avail, forcing Drek to dodge the beam at the last moment. The krikens circled once more and Drek fired again, Trace barely avoiding the shot.

Trace fired the Light Beam again, and Drek leapt over it, a feat that startled Trace. Drek smirked cruelly as he fired at Trace at point blank range. Luckily, Trace fired his Light Beam at the same time, cancelling out the Imperialist, but the beam was too weak to harm Drek's Dark Armor. Drek grinned.

"You're no match for me!" Drek sneered kicking Trace to the ground again. Trace rolled back to his feet, firing again. Drek morphed to Triskelion and lunged, striking Trace, who gasped in horror and pain, landing weakly. Drek laughed as he returned to biped.

"Forgot about my Triskelion venom?" Drek sneered as Trace groaned, pain throbbing where he was hit, the pain also spreading slowly. Although Drek's venom wasn't fatal (unless hit several times) it weakened the opposition greatly, especially with a direct hit like Trace had received. Trace struggled to get back up, but couldn't. The venom had taken most of his remaining strength. After the efforts he had put in to arrive at this point, he had almost nothing left.

Drek smirked as Trace twitched, clearly beaten. Trace stared up at Drek defiantly, the fight still in him, although he didn't have the energy to continue. The venom had seen to that.

"You lose...but everyone expected you to, so there's no shock there!" Drek mocked.

"You didn't win, either. You're still stuck obeying the Dark League like a servant. You don't have control over your thoughts, emotions, or behavior." Trace replied quietly, wincing as another shock of pain struck him.

_He's right. The armor controls you completely..._Drek ignored the thought, but Trace smiled slightly, seeing the effects his words had.

"You're weaker now with the armor than you normally are. Besides, black really isn't your color." Trace whispered.

_I hate the color black_.

Drek scowled furiously. "What do you mean, weaker!" Drek hissed.

"Your tactics are so..." Trace began, searching for the word.

"Repetitive?" Samus suggested.

"Monotonous?" Noxus suggested.

"Boring?" Sylux suggested.

"Pathetic?" Weavel added.

"Dull?" Kanden suggested.

"Clumsy?" Spire suggested.

"Um...I think all of those work, if pathetic means 'similar to Servu'" Trace said. Drek paused.

_Wow...you were acting like Servu? Major diss there. Don't you normally change your tactics to the extent that you're unpredictable?_

Drek was silent, failing to repel the incoming thoughts.

"Come on, bro..." Trace whispered. Drek raised his Imperialist to point at Trace, who likewise raised his weapon, struggling with the effort of doing so. Drek suddenly twitched, lowering the Imperialist, clearly trying to stop himself.

"Hurry, Trace! Shoot!" Drek yelled in panic. Trace was alarmed, but fired. The Light Beam hit Drek, who relaxed immediately. The light energy engulfed the Dark Armor easily, and the armor exploded into shards, all which disinegrated in less than 3 seconds. Drek fell easily to the ground, somehow landing gracefully while unconscious.

The Dark Master let out a shriek of fury, seeing Drek break free of the armor, allowing himself to be hit with the Light Beam. The master forced himself to relax. The League wasn't finished yet. The tablet with the second kriken silhouette blanked as well, and the master scowled. The darkness wasn't beaten yet. There was still another battle to be done.

Trace morphed to Triskelion, which cost a lot of effort and he lunged, returning to biped next to Drek.

"Drek...you okay?" Trace asked. Drek's emerald eye opened, looking around in confusion.

"Great...it wasn't a dream. Or maybe, I'm dreaming that I'm not dreaming..." Drek muttered. Trace laughed in relief and Drek shrugged.

"How pathetic!" The Dark Master sneered.

"What's that?" Drek asked, standing aggressively, but suddenly fell back down.

"Hmm...guess that means I need to recover from our battle, huh?" Drek murmured. Trace shrugged and then remembered he was also greatly weakened.

"Oh yeah...the venom...lucky I carry this!" Drek muttered awkwardly, handing Trace a vial with a green liquid, which Trace drank, feeling his energy return and pain subside. Trace stood up, fully recharged. The other hunters turned to glare at the Dark Master, who smirked.

"Time to lose everything hunters! The time has come at last!" the master cackled.

**Ok, that chapter was harder than I thought it would be. Hope you liked it!**

**There was some minor humor in the last few chapters simply because the atmosphere of these chapters is so much darker than normal.**


	28. The Final Elite

The Dark Master chuckled malevolently as the hunters stared at him.

"You fools are nothing to me, so why rush your destruction? Are you forgetting someone?" the master hissed.

"No..." Trace said slowly. The master pointed at the tablet that had been mostly hidden in shadows, and it gleamed, causing the silhouette to become more pronounced. It was the shape of a black dragon.

"Hehehe. The final elite, and I doubt you have a chance against it, even with your weapons intact!" the master sneered.

"Then why don't you restore them?" Trace challenged.

"I will. Might as well give you false hope, and make the battle more amusing to the Dark Dragon!" the master said, throwing a crystal at the hunters, where it shattered, releasing a white mist. Instantly, the damage to the hunters and their weapons was removed, but they were still as exhausted as before.

"It doesn't replenish energy, just health and weapons. Doesn't matter, as you'll never defeat the final elite." the master explained. The black dragon statue behind the throne glowed black, the eyes burned red and the statue exploded into shards, as a large dragon appeared where the statue once stood. The dragon had fiery red eyes and was completly covered in Dark Armor. It had large wings and sharp claws. It also had a spiked tail, and both Samus and Weavel gasped in shock.

"Guys...that's not actually Ridley, you know!" Drek shouted.

"Oh..." Weavel said in relief.

"It has all the abilities of Ridley, all enhanced by Dark Armor!" Drek added.

"Thanks..." Samus said bitterly. Drek shrugged, crawling away from the battle zone. The dragon roared and spat a large fireball, which streaked past Weavel, who flinched, raising his Battlehammer.

"Good luck hunters..." the master sneered, reactivating the force field orb around himself. Samus fired her missiles as rapidly as she could at the dragon, who roared as they exploded upon him, reminding Samus of fireworks. When the smoke cleared, the dragon was unharmed, and Sylux could swear the thing was mocking them. He fired his Shock Coil at the large dragon, but as soon as it locked onto the dragon, the beast lashed out with its tail, using it as a whip and knocking Sylux aside with a flick.

Spire fired his Magmaul, hoping to do at least something to it, but the dragon released a fireball that countered the magma shot. Noxus smiled, firing his Judicator quickly, but the dragon completely ignored the icy shots, spinning around, the tail slamming into Noxus, sending the Vhozon across the room. Weavel fired his Battlehammer rapidly, the green explosions covering the dragon.

The dragon roared and Weavel grinned, but the grin faded as a fireball burst from the explosion and struck him, knocking him to the ground painfully. Trace fired his Imperialist, then sidestepped a fireball and stood still, becoming invisible.

"That won't work, Trace! Dragons have better senses!" Drek yelled, and Trace dove to the side to avoid a tailwhip. The Dark Master chuckled, seeing the intense battle, but no progress on the hunters' parts. The Dark Dragon was the final elite, and the most powerful creature aside from himself. The dragon was made from the Space Pirate leader's DNA, which had been secured over a year ago.

However, the Dark Armor had to slowly envelop the creature, which was why the dragon was sealed in a statue for so long, until it was time to release it. The hunters couldn't defeat it, the beast was too powerful, especially with Dark Armor. If Samus thought Ridley was hard, she'd hate to see Ridley with Dark Armor! The time had indeed come, to destroy all the hunters at once! Then, the dragon would be released to destroy the universe, planet by planet. The master smiled coldly, amused by the struggles.

"Come on...fight together!" Spire yelled, dodging a fireball.

"What do you think we've been doing?" Sylux asked in annoyance.

"Fighting separately. Teamwork will take this thing down!" Spire said.

"I can do it myself!" Trace muttered, firing his Imperialist again.

"You're doing a marvelous job of it. Now actually damage the thing!" Noxus retorted. Kanden fired a charged Volt Driver, the orb struck the dragon, which roared and fired a group of fireballs, which flew in different direction, exploding on contact.

Trace morphed to Triskelion to dodge, and Weavel placed his half-turret, hoping to do some damage, but the dragon slashed with its claws, knocking the turret flying, bouncing off the wall. Weavel gasped in agony, returning to biped, panting. The dragon fired more fireballs, and Samus jumped to avoid, firing missiles as quickly as possible, but the dragon shook them off easily.

"This is bad...we can't do anything against that thing!" Noxus whispered.

"All together now!" Spire shouted raising his Magmaul. The dragon smirked at the sight of the 7 hunters raising their weapons and flapped its wings, creating a wind gust that blew them all backwards, slamming into the walls or pillars.

"Ow..." Sylux complained.

"That thing is toying with us!" Kanden yelled in fury, firing his Volt Driver, but the dragon ignored the weak bolts of energy, returning fire with fireballs, but the hunters took cover behind the pillar, the flames missing them by inches.

"Not good!" Spire muttered. The dragon flapped its wings, taking flight and firing more fireballs, the pillar that protected the hunters cracked. Trace fired his Imperialist at the dragon, but the dragon blocked it with its tail. The tail lashed out again, shattering the pillar. Samus fired missiles again, but the dragon ignored the blasts.

Weavel's Battlehammer was similarly ignored. Spire fired his charged Magmaul, but the dragon countered with its own fireballs, neutralizing it and Noxus' Judicator. The Shock Coil was countered with a tailswipe and the Imperialist was blocked by the tail. Kanden's Volt Driver had no effect. Spire's eye narrowed, noting the dragon's strategy. It ignored Battlehammer, missiles and Volt Driver, but made an effort to block the other 4 attacks. Maybe that was a clue to its weakness.

"Guys, pay attention to what attacks it blocks!" Spire muttered to them. Trace considered this and smirked. The Diamont had a use after all. Although Trace had noticed the blocking of the Imperialist, he never noticed it countering the others. Trace fired the Imperialist, and the dragon blocked again.

Noxus fired the Judicator, and a fireball negated it. A fireball similarly neutralized the Magmaul, and the Shock Coil was countered. All other attacks it ignored. The Dark Master scowled. It appeared as though the dragon was not invincible after all. However, it successfully countered all attacks that it were in danger from, so it hardly mattered.

"Focus on the foes!" the master ordered, and the dragon roared, lashing out its tail to knock Sylux and Noxus aside, shooting fireballs at Spire and Trace. Weavel fired his Battlehammer desperately, hoping to injure it at least a little bit, but the dragon ignored him. Samus shrugged, firing her Power Beam and missiles, but again was ignored. The dragon flew higher, eyes burning as it focused on Noxus, charging a fireball in its mouth.

Noxus fired his Judicator desperately, and Trace fired the Imperialist, but the dragon dodged with amazing speed, releasing the large fireball at Noxus. Before the fire hit Noxus, something moved into the way of the blast and a large explosion took place. The Dark Master sat up, eyes narrowing as he searched for the source of the interference. Weavel was twitching in agony, his half-turret demolished.

"Where have I heard of that technique before...I know, you used it to save Spire, which resulted in your death!" the master sneered, remembering the story of the Dark Hunter's original attack.

"I didn't die, damn it!" Weavel yelled.

"Dark Dragon, finish off the pirate!" the master sneered. The dragon charged another fireball and spat it at Weavel, who yelled in fear as the blast engulfed him, creating a pillar of flames encircling the spot he had been. When the fire faded, Weavel was no where to be seen.

"Dead for real!" the master smirked. Samus gasped, turning to stare around the room for the cybernetic pirate. There was no sign of him. He was gone. Noxus scowled furiously, leaping recklessly at the dragon and landing on its back, firing the Judicator at the dragon's head. The beast roared in pain and fury, trying to thrwo Noxus off its back, but Noxus remained until the dragon barrel rolled, and Noxus seized the dragon's neck, suspended 50 feet above the ground.

The dragon lashed at Noxus with its tail, wrapping it around one of his legs and flipping him into the air before seizing the Vhozon with its claws. Noxus was feeling faint, and was strugging to escape the grasp, at the same time fearing he would fall to his demise. The dragon roared in triumph, lifting its claws to its mouth. Noxus struggled to free his Judicator, but his arm was trapped. He saw death approaching. Suddenly, another roar sounded in the room, and the dragon looked around distractedly.

"Idiots, get it!" Weavel's voice shouted. Trace didn't hesitate, firing his Imperialist at the dragon's head, and it roared in pain, releasing Noxus. Noxus plummeted to the ground and yelled in fear, but managed to get a brief grip on the pillar. Samus fired her grapple beam, catching Noxus and pulling him to the ground safely, before releasing him dismissively. All hunters equipped Imperialists, firing at the dragon. Samus noticed the 7th beam came from a tile in the floor, and she looked at it curiously. Weavel poked his head out of the trap door, grinning.

"Wow...How'd you find that?" Sylux asked.

"I noticed it when corrupted, thought it might come in handy." Weavel replied.

"How did you distract the dragon?" Spire asked.

"Did everyone forget I can make sounds exactly like Ridley?" Weavel asked. Silence.

"I guess so." Kanden admitted.

"Dark Dragon, destroy them all!" the Dark Master shrieked, but Trace fired the Light Beam. The dragon whipped its tail to block, but snarled in pain, the light energy spreading quickly through the dragon's body. Trace fired again, and again, and again, until the dragon glowed with light energy, shrieking in agony.

Then, after a few seconds of writhing in midair, the dragon drifted to the ground and disinegrated slowly, but entirely. Above the Dark Master's throne, the tablet blanked, as did the Dark Hunter's transparent one. The Dark Master looked shocked, to say the least. All the Dark Elites were defeated. The hunters turned to face him, and the Dark Master's mouth curled into a grin.

"It's over hunters...the game ends here!"

**Next chapter: Dark Master vs. The Hunters! Hope you liked this chapter as much as I liked writing it.**


	29. Master of Darkness

"So, all your precious members are defeated!" Sylux boasted to the Dark Master, whose eyes gleamed with malice.

"I don't care...it surprised me, but ultimately, I'll win!" the master replied.

"You look too frail to beat us all!" Kanden commented.

"Appearances mean nothing! For all you know, this is naught but a disguise focused on catching the opponent off-guard!" the master retorted, standing and walking forward calmly.

"Then bring it on!" Noxus replied.

"Good to see such confident opponents, it makes for better sport." the master replied, vanishing and reappearing behind Noxus, seizing his arm and throwing him over his shoulder into the wall. At nearly the same time, the master reappeared behind Sylux, delivering a powerful kick to Sylux's chest, sending him soaring into the wall. Also during the instant after that, the master was in front of Spire, flicking him lightly with an armored finger, but Spire felt a great power emanate and was altogether unsurprised to be flying across the room into a wall.

Samus fired a missile, but the master caught the missile easily and threw it back, stunning her. In her moment of incapacitation, he flipped her over his shoulder like he had to Noxus. Weavel fired his Battlehammer, but his target vanished and struck him from the side, knocking him to the floor. Kanden fired a charged Volt Driver bolt, but the master reflected it with a wave of his hand, knocking Kanden aside, distorting his vision. Trace hesitated, knowing the Imperialist would be no good. Instead, Trace fired the Light Beam, but to his horror, the master blocked it, although he seemed unable to reflect it like he did the Volt Driver.

"Is that all you hunters have?" the master asked with a chuckle.

"No, we're still in this battle!" Spire replied.

"So you require another demonstration of my abilities?" the master hissed.

"Sure, bring on your abilities!" Weavel snapped.

"How ironic the one with the lowest strength left is the one who challenges me!" the master mused. Weavel snarled in reply, lunging toward the master blindly, but in an instant of time, the master lashed his foot out and sent Weavel rocketing towards the wall, where he collapsed in exhaustion.

"Come on fools, give me something to work with!" the master goaded.

"How's this?!" Drek shouted and a red beam hit the master, who grunted in shock.

"That armor doesn't seem very strong..." Drek pointed out.

"You filthy kriken piece of kriken filth!" the master spat furiously.

"Bit redundant there, aren't you?" Drek asked, grinning. Trace could swear that Drek lived for confrontations like this. The master snarled in reply, and Drek shrugged indifferently. Trace fired his Imperialist at the master, who dodged it without turning his attention from Drek. Noxus fired the Judicator, but the master vanished, reappearing behind Noxus an bringing an armored fist upon the Vhozon's head, knocking him to the ground.

Meanwhile, Drek had approached the center of the room, where the other hunters were temporarily gathered. The master seemed to relax a moment, his calm, and therefore creepy, demeanor was back in place.

"You're all too weak to beat me!" the master explained.

"Is that so?" Sylux asked, firing his Shock Coil, but the master seemed to absorb the energy with his hands before suddenly releasing the energy as his own weapon, the neutrinos surging through Sylux, who yelled in pain and fear, falling backwards, but managing to roll back to his feet, eager to complete the battle. Trace fired the Light Beam, but once again, the Dark Master repelled the beam away from him, neutralizing it. At the same time, the master easily knocked Noxus and Spire to the ground as they lunged to distract him.

Weavel's Battlehammer exploded nearby, but harmless to the master, who seemed able to predict every one of their tactics. However, another Imperialist from Drek struck him and the master bellowed in fury, conjuring a ball of flames, throwing it at the venom green kriken, who dodged with ease. The master looked startled.

"What's wrong, master?" Drek asked sarcastically. "Oh, could it be you can't read my thoughts, and therefore my tactics are completly unknown to you?" Drek continued, mockingly. Drek was doing strange, acrobatic swings and jumps between the two pillars in the room, which were at a distance of about 20 feet from each other, but Drek was leaping between them with ease, spinning to avoid the Dark Master's fireballs. Drek also managed to fake out the master, by pretending to be about to leap, but ultimately not jumping. The master snarled in fury and Drek laughed.

"Oh, is the great Dark Master, the leader of the Dark League getting confused by my simplest techniques?" Drek sneered. The master launched two energy bolts, shattering both pillars into rubble, but Drek had anticipated the move, leaping backwards off the pillar. The master scowled, vanishing and reappearing next to Spire, seizing the Diamont and throwing him effortlessly across the room at Drek, but Drek dodged the projectile.

Trace fired his Light Beam at the master, who seized Kanden's Stinglarva (which was sneaking up on him) and using the slug as a shield, injuring Kanden and defending himself. Samus fired her missiles, but the master caught each one easily, throwing them with perfect accuracy at other hunters faster than Samus could shoot them.

"STOP SHOOTING!" Sylux yelled after getting hit by redirected missiles for the 3rd time. "Oh, sorry..." Samus replied, seeing the targets the master had assigned her missiles too. Only Drek had been able to dodge them.

"All together now!" Spire yelled, and immediately all hunters, except Drek, who isn't a hunter, fired at the Dark Master. Drek groaned at his teammate's idiocy.

"He's not there anymore! He shadow teleported long before you guys started shooting! Don't you get his strategy yet?" Drek yelled in annoyance. Trace nodded, having been the only hunter to shoot at a different area than the others.

The Dark Master reappeared behind Trace, slamming his fist into Trace's back. At the same instant Drek fired his Imperialist, hitting the Dark Master's hand. The master yelled in pain, and the impact was weaker than intended, merely knocking Trace to the ground rather than a greater injury. Spire fired his Magmaul at the master, who caught the magma ball and threw it at Noxus, who neutralized it with the Judicator.

The battle was becoming more intense, as the master had regained his composure and was once again efficiently countering their moves. None of the hunters were giving up, although Drek was content with watching the battle more than actually fighting. Trace found this annoying, as Drek was the only one able to injure the Dark Master.

"There's more to this battle than you could ever know!" the master sneered, kicking Trace aside, seizing Noxus' arm and throwing him into Kanden. Samus' morph ball was zipping aorund the room, planting bombs as close as possible to the master, but was more often kicked aside by the skeletally thin armored figure, the morph ball often slamming into other hunters, knocking them to the ground. After a repeat performance in this manner for the third time, Samus returned to biped, to the elation of the unintentional victims of her rolling morph ball.

Drek narrowed his emerald green eye, watching the Dark Master carefully. The master's armor was one of the weakest armors he had ever seen, but the master was the most powerful member. Why would the strongest Dark League member use the weakest Dark Armor? The only solution that made sense was the master was stronger without the need of the armor, but that didn't make enough sense as the master relied on the armor's abilities, especially shadow teleport and energy conjuring.

Drek fired his Imperialist, hitting the Dark Master, who yelled in fury, stumling backwards. The distraction was sufficient, as the hunters pounced on the opportunity to finish the fight by firing all their weapons and firepower on the master, but Drek noticed the master's teleportation and turned around, firing the Imperialist, striking the master as he reappeared behind Drek.

"Getting slow!" Drek jeered. The Dark Master's face twisted into a dark scowl.

"You won't win, filth!" the master snapped. Suddenly there was a flash of energy, and Drek grinned as the master was launched off his feet, slamming into the wall, the armor cracking. Trace fired the Light Beam and the master howled in fury as the light energy spread through his body.

"That wasn't as hard as I thought it would be..." Samus said nervously. The master glared at them as his body seemed to melt into a puddle of goo, but then reform. Instead of a human-like figure, the new figure was completely shapeless, moving about freely.

"Shapeshifting powers..." Samus remembered quietly.

"Correct Miss Aran!" the master bellowed, forming the shape of a serpent.

"What is that thing?" Sylux asked nervously.

"Hehehe! The world will fall before the mighty Dark League!" the serpent hissed.

"The League's finished, get over it!" Spire snapped boldly. The serpent reformed into the humanoid master.

"Then perhaps the game should end now? Very well...learn the truth behind the Armor and then lose everything!" the master sneered.

"Um...ok?" Weavel replied.

"The Dark Armor isn't natural power, fools! In fact, its existence is perhaps the greatest mistake ever!" the master explained.

"What does that mean?" Noxus asked coldly. The master smiled cruelly.

"The Dark Armor is actually a Phazon infused parasite!" There was a silence.

"That's creepy." Kanden admitted.

"That's why the armor tries to envelop the host: It needs a host to survive. After a long time, neither can live without the other, and the extra abilities the parasite provides as a defense of its host is reason enough why the hosts wants to keep the armor! Of course, by that point, the host has been affected by Phazon, but not to the extent where its harmful, because the parasite needs the host. Enough to corrupt them, since aggression feeds the parasite! The League focused on replicating Dark Armor, and I discovered the simplest way: the Dark Metroid Hatchling!" the master explained.

"One problem...the hatchling was born infused with the armor, so it wasn't aggressive." Drek said coolly.

"Exactly, since the armor didn't need food, as it fed off the vital systems of the metroid. After a while, aggression is a negative effect, and the parasite instead tries to calm the host rather than increase the aggression. By that point, the parasite feeds from the vital systems, and aggression is bad for life if it goes on too long!" the master sneered.

"How was the metroid born with armor?" Samus asked softly.

"From the egg of the original Dark Metroid, which is a metroid infused with Dark Armor immediately after birth! Now witness the ultimate powers of the Dark League!" The master grinned and concentrated, the armor he wore faded away and a new creature seemed to appear. It was frightening to see, as Samus recognized the shape immediately.

The Dark Master was a Dark Metroid. An adult Dark Metroid.

TO BE CONTINUED...

**I hope the chapter turned out good. It's pretty difficult to explain Dark Armor, but I knew I'd have to eventually.**


	30. Final Darkness

"Please tell me I'm imagining that the Dark Master is a metroid." Sylux said urgently.

"The Dark Master is a Dark Metroid, no imagining." Samus said sadly.

"I said tell me I WAS imagining." Sylux insisted.

"What good would that do?" Noxus asked.

"_Fools! I am the Dark Metroid, the master of the League!"_ A cruel voice sneered in their heads, no doubt coming from the black metroid hovering a few feet away.

"We're in trouble, aren't we?" Kanden asked, looking at the metroid with distaste.

"Hold on! If you're a Dark Metroid, that means the hatchling was your kid?" Drek suddenly asked.

"_Yes...what's your point?_" The metroid replied evilly.

"So you're a female? Then why is your other form male?" Drek asked smugly.

"_I don't know. Now DIE!_" the metroid lunged at Drek, who leapt over the metroid, firing the Imperialisthopefully, but the metroid's armor was impenetrable.

"Come on, let's take this blob down!" Spire yelled.

"You're too cheerful." Weavel pointed out.

"Better than depressed, like other times he fought." Trace pointed out.

_"Enough talking!"_ the metroid demanded, lunging at Weavel, who retaliated with rapid Battlehammer shots at the metroid. To no one's surprise, the metroid was unfazed by the shots, merely shaking off the damage it might have inflicted. Sylux fired his Shock Coil, successfully locking the neutrinos onto the approaching metroid, but having no real effect. Spire fired his Magmaul as quickly as possible, but as with the other weapons, the metroid ignored the shots, almost laughing at their futile attempts to injure it.

_"I'm not like the hatchling...I'm so much stronger!"_ The metroid jeered. Noxus charged his Judicator, attempting to freeze the metroid.

"Noxus, it's immune to cold, just like the hatchling!" Sylux reminded him. In the moment of distraction, the metroid successfully latched onto Weavel, who screamed in fear. Although everyone would have loved to laugh at Weavel's shrill scream, Trace fired the Light Beam at the metroid, which squealed in rage, releasing Weavel, who fell weakly to the ground.

_"He barely had energy anyway!"_ the metroid remarked. Kanden fired a charged Volt Driver shot, but the metroid dodged, latching onto Kanden, who yelled in horror and Trace fired the Light Beam while Samus released the Omega Cannon.

_"We can't have that now, can we?" _The metroid sneered, shaking off the effects of the two weapons, attempting to hide the actual damage inflicted. The Dark Metroid lunged at Samus, who fired the Omega Cannon as fast as possible, but the metroid endured the pain as it approached. Trace fired the Light Beam desperately and the metroid shrieked, almost collapsing in midair. Drek noticed that despite its weakness to light, the metroid was still able to overcome the light energy, unlike all others that were almost immediately defeated.

"His armor is infused with Light Energy?" Drek whispered loudly. The metroid turned towards Drek.

_"How the hell could you tell that?!" _the metroid bellowed in Drek's head.

"Inside-head voices, please." Drek retorted and the metroid squealed with fury, lunging at the venom kriken, which morphed to Triskelion and waited before lunging, striking the metroid, releasing his venom into the hideous armored creature. He struck again, avoiding the metroid's claws, striking at every opportunity, injecting more Triskelion venom until the metroid successfully seized the Triskelion.

"NO!" Trace yelled, firing the Light Beam at the metroid. The metroid threw the Triskelion aside limply.

_"To finish you all now!"_ the metroid sneered. Then it tumbled to the ground, twitching. The hunters opened fire on the limp metroid, but it gleamed black, shapeshifting...into the armored serpent again.

"I'll crush you in this form!" the master sneered, once more speaking rather than telepathy. The Dark Serpent expanded creating pillars to grow from the floor, supporting each of the hunters, another supporting the Triskelion, which stirred before Drek returned to biped.

"What is this, a videogame?" Drek asked, staring at the platforms.

"Interestingly, I'd say yes. Fits all the requirements. Ugly monster, platforms suspended over certain death, the platforms perfectly aligned with the monster's weak point, and the monster is huge." Spire said.

"I see that you analyze videogames. Stop doing it in reality." Drek said seriously.

"Silence mortals!" the master hissed.

"Oh, and the monster refers to the players as weak, mortal, or..."

"That's it, I'm killing you!" Drek said, leaping from his platform onto Spire's. Spire shrieked and rolled into Dialanche, rolling off the pillar he was on and clinging to the side of the formation. Trace snickered. The Dark Serpent hissed and lashed out its tail, smashing the pillar Drek and Spire were on.

"What? No lava pit?" Spire asked. Drek leapt off the pillar and landed on Weavel's. Spire clung onto Samus' pillar, using the Dialanche to reach the top.

"Hm, and the monster has a really cheap tactic to shorten the fight..." Spire ducked Drek's Imperialist.

"Also, obviously the teammates have to work together to beat the thing." Spire continued. Samus pushed Spire off her pillar. He landed painlessly on the ground.

"Some certain death!" Kanden muttered.

"ARE YOU DONE BEING IDIOTS!" The master snarled, spitting a fireball, which Samus jumped to avoid. The serpent's tail swung, hitting Samus back onto the pillar, and she gasped in pain. She raised the Omega Cannon and fired. At the same time, the serpent spat a fireball.

"No!" Samus whispered as the projectiles collided too close. There was a burst of light and Samus stared at her arm cannon.

"The Omega Cannon..." she whispered.

"Destroyed!" the serpent hissed evilly. Trace fired the Light Beam as Spire fired the Magmaul. The serpent countered the Light Beam with a powerful energy blast it spat, while disregarding the Magmaul.

"Hmmm...the head must be the weak point." Spire mused, avoiding another Imperialist from across the room. Kanden was staring at Spire incredulously.

"Why are you trying to get killed in the middle of a life struggle?" Kanden asked.

"I'm not, Greeny just hates videogames and has an anger issue." Spire replied. Dead silence as everyone, including the Dark Serpent turned to stare at Spire in a mixture of awe, shock, horror and attempting not to laugh.

"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU CALL ME YOU LITTLE..." Drek never finished his yell of fury, but he fired his Imperialist, which gleamed black, rather than red.

"Drek! The Dark Imperialist!" Trace warned, but Drek ignored him, so intent on killing Spire. Spire seemed to regret his comment, and ran as fast as he could, trying to dodge the Imperialist. The Serpent lashed out its tail, shattering the remaining pillars. A few falling rocks helped save Spire from Drek's wrath.

"I'm bored with you! Death approaches!" The master hissed, lunging at Trace. Drek's fury changed targets from Spire to the Dark Serpent, firing the Dark Imperialist while Trace fired the Light Beam. The two beams glowed brilliantly, merging from black and white to a deep silvery color. Samus scanned the beam as it hit the serpent.

**"Chaos Beam. The ultimate fusion of light and darkness can overcome any foe of good or evil. One shot only."**

"And me without a camera..." Samus said sadly.

"Ever notice in videogames that brothers usually unite?" Spire asked.

"Spire...either learn to shut up, or learn how to escape from Drek." Kanden advised. The silver beam hit the Serpent, which let out a shriek, writhing around dangerously, narrowly missing the other hunters, which were all shooting the serpent as well, despite the obvious fact the "Chaos Beam" was going to finish the job. Both krikens were surrounded by energy as they fired non stop at the gigantic snake.

After what seemed like hours, but was really only several minutes, the Light Beam overloaded, stray bolts of energy leapt from the weapon, hitting Trace, who grunted, refusing to release the trigger. The serpent let out a final bellow and melted into a pool of goo. Trace fell to his knees as the Light Beam crumbled into dust in his hand, but the task was complete. The serpent was no more...but as they watched the puddle, it reformed into the skeletal figure of the Dark Master. No longer grinning, the master stared at the krikens with a dark look of fury. The Dark Armor was still melting, vanishing. Without a word, the master faded slowly, disinegrating into nothing. The Dark League was finished.

"WARNING! EVACUATE IMMEDIATELY! WARNING! EVACUATE IMMEDIATELY!"

"Ever notice in vidoegames you have a time limit to escape?" Spire asked. **5:00**.

"Spire, do you ever shut up?" Trace asked. The forcefield blocking the door where Servu had fled earlier vanished and the hunters raced through it.

"Where does this go?" Trace asked.

"The exit. My ship is there, so I'll give everyone a lift out to their ships, but not Spire unless he doesn't talk!" Drek replied. As they reached a corridor, abruptly 3 Space Pirates blocked their path.

"Figures. There's always guards near the escape." Spire muttered, fortunately not heard by Drek. Trace fired his Imperialist at the first guard, who blocked it with his arm, the Dark Armor absorbing the shot. **3:40**. Samus fired her missiles, but the pirates countered with energy beams, destroying the missiles. Drek morphed to Triskelion, lunging at the pirates rapidly, injecting all 3 with venom.

"I thought you hate depending on the venom." Trace pointed out.

"We're in a hurry. I can use it without depending on it." Drek replied. Weavel fired his Battlehammer, weakening the pirates. As they watched, the Dark Armor faded, causing shock from the pirates.

"The Dark Metroid controlled the existence of any armor it developed, so the Dark Armor is destroyed!" Kanden explained.

"Why didn't that happen with the hatchling armor?" Trace asked.

"Because the hatchling didn't create the armor itself, it supplied the energy for the parasite." Drek muttered, firing his Imperialist, killing all 3 pirates in one shot. **1:20**. The hunters burst through the door to the docking bay.

"Whoa! Nice!" Noxus said.

"Um...that's not any special ship." Drek said honestly. "That's the typical Kriken Attack Craft, customized with a few more luxurious factors, but mostly ordinary." Drek amended.

"The name?" Trace asked.

"Kriken Force III" Drek replied.

"Why?" Trace asked.

"No time, just go!" Samus yelled. They all hurried aboard the ship and Drek piloted the ship through the hangar doors, just as a massive explosion erupted, tearing the HQ apart.


	31. Ending

The hunters stood by the forest, looking out at the ruined Dark League HQ. The mere sight of the complete ruin of the HQ was enough to create a feeling of bliss in each of them. Drek stood apart from the hunters, deep in thought. Considering his knowledge of the Dark Armor now, he wondered how the Kriken Empire had ever found enough of it to create his armor. It didn't matter, considering the Kriken Lab's destruction. He groaned softly, remembering the events surrounding that incident.

"What the...?" Noxus muttered, looking at the sky. The shadowy cloud surrounding the planet was disappearing.

"Time for me to go!" Samus said, entering her ship and taking off.

"Likewise," Sylux said, entering the Delano 8. Kanden and Weavel entered Kanden's ship, _Poison_. Kanden reluctantly allowed Weavel to come after being reminded Weavel's ship had been destroyed by Servu. Noxus entered the _Eternal Justice_ (What a stupid name, Drek thought) and Spire hastily entered the _Avalanche_. Trace looked at Drek uncertainly.

"Where are you going, bro?" Trace asked. Drek shrugged.

"Where is there to go? I'm not returning to the planet for now, after apparently abandoning my Battlelord post and the destruction of the Kriken Lab will prevent a good chance of re-appointment. Maybe a different Kriken system. The better question is where are you going to go? Now you have nothing. No Omega Cannon, no Light Beam, no planets to invade. The Shadow System is already kriken controlled, but the Dark League moved in. Guess you just have to keep searching for a planet. Seriously, how is it so hard?" Drek asked. Trace shrugged.

"Most are in Federation territory, already controlled, too remote, worthless, or others. You got lucky to get the Diamont planet." Trace replied.

"Perhaps, but the invasion was too easy, despite being a superb planet. Shot down the theory that the best planets are the best defended." Drek replied. Trace nodded, deep in thought now.

"Better get going, Trace. We'll meet again, no doubt. Go find a suitable planet to invade, so you can return to the Kriken planets and finally get a girlfriend!" Drek said, the last line said teasingly. Trace laughed nervously and walked to his _Kriken Sniper_.

"Good luck, bro. Contact me whenever you want, just not TOO often." Drek called after him. Trace nodded and entered his ship and taking off. Drek watched him go, looked back at the Dark League HQ ruins and entered his ship, flying in a different direction. The cloud around Abyss had completely faded, the ominous feeling of the system gone.

Samus entered the Federation base a few days after leaving Abyss. She hated mission briefings, and it wasn't helpful that Commander Gabe Grater was always the one doing the briefing. As if she didn't have enough irritations in her job field. At least she got paid a meager amount for risking her life. Samus chuckled quietly, remembering her salary negotiation with Grater, before going on the Abyss quest. She entered the briefing room and was unsurprised to see Grater glowering at her.

"About time!" he barked at her. Samus rolled her eyes before removing her helmet.

"How am I late? There's no appointment?" Samus asked. Grater growled in annoyance.

"I'm very busy! Here, review the file!" he shouted, once more reminding Samus of how Grater was unnecessarily loud at all times. Samus took it wordlessly, without looking at it.

"Anything else?" she asked sweetly.

"How did your little "personal mission" go?" Grater asked loudly.

"Same old, nearly died, Dark League finished..." as Samus said this Grater let out a loud burst of laughter.

"You took out the Dark League in the Shadow System, on Abyss?" Grater yelled.

"Yes..." Samus said slowly.

"Look at the file." Grater barked. Samus stared at the file in disbelief.

"Damn!" she said in shock. The mission was a suggested infiltration of Abyss to investigate the Dark League.

"You're free to go. We have no missions at this time, but will contact you if something comes up!" Grater yelled as she left in a hurry.

Servu stared out into the blank void of space. He knew Trace and the others had escaped Abyss, and he was surprised they had defeated the Dark League. Abyss' cloud was gone, the clear sign of the elimintaion of the League. Servu pondered his next destination. He wouldn't return to his last home planet, but he would return to the Kriken Empire. Unlike Drek, he had no poor reputation, aside from second best to Trace.

He scowled, picturing Trace in his mind. He would defeat the kriken he hated, eventually. Trace would be searching for a planet, and Servu might be just around the corner to cause havoc. Servu grinned, his yellow eye glinting. Their paths would cross again, and Servu would be stronger than ever. Then no kriken would ever say that Servu was second best again!

**A short ending, but not much more needed to be said. The trilogy has ended, but I'll probably make more fics in the future. The credits chapter has more information about the trilogy, including character info. If you have questions or comments, just PM me and I'll reply. Please review!**


End file.
